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EDWIN S. GORHAM, Publisher 
Church Missions House, i^ttD Pot6 




Class EX-5M 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



Cl^e Ceacl^et;'^ Companion 

TO THE 

TRINITY COURSE 
OF CHURCH INSTRUCTION 



Wl)t %mti\tfQ Companion 

TO THE 

TRINITY COURSE 
OF CHURCH INSTRUCTION 

$ 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER: 

THE TEXT-BOOK OF THE 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

By Rev. C. M: BECKWITH 



I*? . GRADES I, II. Ill 



> > > 1 > 






NEW YORK 
EDWIN S. GORHAM 

CHURCH MISSIONS HOUSE 

MCMH 



.34 



THE ♦Ofl^^y Qp 

CONGRESS. 
0« Co»»v A«civn> 

JUN. 12 1902 

_ OO^Y ■. 

Copyright, 1902, by 
C. M. BECKWITH 



€l^e ^nt'fyot'$ preface 

TF this manual throws light upon the method of inter- 
esting and instructing , the children of our Sunday- 
schools, they must be thanked at whose solicitation the 
work was undertaken, and at whose request the sugges- 
tions are now put in book form. 

About four years ago, we published, under the title The 
Trinity Course of Church Instruction, the system 
which we had thoroughly tested in our own parochial and 
mission schools, and through which we had successfully 
made the Book of Common Prayer the text-book of the 
Sunday-school. 

Our teachers were interested from the introduction of 
the system, and it soon developed that a new life was 
springing up among the children. At the end of four 
years we can say that our Sunday-school is accomplishing 
the purpose of its being, and is returning to the Church 
young men and women who know " the Truth as this 
Church hath received the same,^' and to whom the Book 
of Common Prayer is as familiar as home voices. 

At the request of a number of the Clergy, and through 
the very great courtesy of the Southern CHURCHMAX, 
we have taken a class through three Grades of the Trinity 
Course and will complete the Fourth Grade. 

We had numbers of requests for the reprints and they 
were soon exhausted. Still the requests come, and in 
answer we send this manual out. While it contains many 

15] 



THE author's preface 

suggestions that would be useful to teachers of any sys- 
tem^ still it is specially published for those who have 
adopted, or are thinking of adopting, The Trinity 
Course of Church Instruction. 

Attention is called to the fact that we teach by SUB- 
JECTS, not by Sundays, and therefore this system can 
be adopted at any time of the year. 

If the teachers will use these papers as suggestions, and 
give their own minds a chance to grow, they will soon 
realize the value of the system which has placed the Book 
of Common Prayer in the Sunday-school of the Church, 
and permitted the Church to teach her own children. 

C. M. B. 



[6] 



a^ftoD of S^ntroDucinB tfje €ritutp Course, 

A.ND 

ADAPTIJ^G THE SAME TO THE CONDITIONS 
OF A SUNDAY-SCHOOL THAT IS ALREADY 
ORGANIZED 

npHE frequency with which this question has been 
asked suggests its practical importance. Our own 
method was so satisfactory, simple, and successful that we 
offer it as an answer to the question. Of course the 
method of placing a system in a school must finally be 
left to each Rector, and therefore we give our experience 
in the matter only as suggestions. 

First it should be understood that with the 
Trinity Course we teach BY SUBJECTS, and not 
BY Sundays, and for this reason this system may be 
introduced into a school at any time of the year. 
You do not have to wait until Advent comes, but 
can begin the system in Lent, or at Easter, or dur- 
ing Trinity, or at any time you see fit. The fact 

THAT WE teach BY Suhjects ADDS THIS VERY GREAT AD- 
VANTAGE TO THE SYSTEM. 

We advise that you begin with the Infant Class. (See 
page 17 of the Trinity Course.) Lot the teacher under- 

" [7] 



INTRODUCING THE TRINITY COURSE 

stand that she is left absolutely free as to method of deal- 
ing with the little children. She may sing hymns, or tell 
Bible storieS;, or draw on the blackboard, or give them 
cards with illustrations: any device she may hit upon 
to win and hold the interest of those under her charge. 
Only she is to see that the infants are taught the Creed, 
the Lord^s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. In this 
system, these are the three things that are looked for in 
the Infant Class. If the teacher finds that other things 
will assist her in the control of the children, LEAVE 
HER FREE to follow her judgment. When the infants 
know the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Com- 
mandments and (in the judgment of the teacher) are 
ready to leave the Infant Class, they should be taken into 
the Sunday-school proper. 

Then we advise that you go into the Sunday-school. 
Ask what children know the Church Catechism. Ex- 
amine them, and advance those who have stood the ex- 
amination on the Church Catechism to the Second Grade 
of the system. Thus your Sunday-school is graded. You 
have (1) the Infant Class, studying the Creed, the Lord's 
Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. (2) You have the 
First Grade studying the Church Catechism. (3) You 
have those who have been advanced to Second Grade 
studying the Church Year. The other Grades will be 
formed as rapidly as the pupils are ready for their ex- 
aminations. 

Note 1. — The system grades your school, and the Cer- 
tificate determines the advancement of the children from 
one Grade to another. You have gotten rid of all arbi- 
trary distinction, and put your Sunday-school upon a 

[8] 



INTRODUCING THE TRINITY COURSE 

basis with which your children have become familiar in 
the secular schools of the land. 

Note 2. — Special attention is called to the fact that 
when this system is first introduced exceptions will have 
to be made to meet the needs of the advanced children. 
There will be many of the older children who will have 
to be admitted to the Second Grade without a " word for 
word" committing of the Catechism. (See page 18 of 
the Trinity Course.) This is a matter that must be left 
to the judgment of those in authority. After the system 
has been used long enough to let the children grow up 
from the Infant Class^ there will be no friction. 

Note 3. — Another thing is important: — Do not bind 
any of your teachers down to a certain method oi teaching. 
We differ the one from the other, and one man's method 
is not another's. Eequire the THING, and leave each 
teacher free as to the way that thing is accomplished. In 
the Infant Class require the Creed, the Lord's Prayer 
and the Ten Commandments. In the First Grade require 
the Church Catechism. In the Second Grade require the 
Church Year, and so on. But do not make the mistake 
of forcing a certain method of teaching. You want your 
teachers to develop their own strong points, and there- 
fore, in the matter of method, you must leave them free. 

If you have not devised a better way to introduce the 
Trinity Course, try this. You will find it simple and 
practical. Your school will slip from the system you 
have used into this without friction, and as rapidly as the 
children can be examined your school will be graded. In 
a very little while you will have a Church School. The 
Certificates and Diplomas are in the hands of the pub- 
lisher, r 9 ] 



3^ntrotiuttt0tt 

TN" 1899 the Trinity Course of Church Instruction was 
published. Under this system our own school had 
been working for a year and a half, and the practical suc- 
cess of the system led us to give the Church the benefit 
of what we had already done. It never occurred to us 
that others would discover difficulties where we had found 
none, or that we had accomplished what others could not 
do. Hence we were surprised to find our brethren of the 
Clergy stumbling over theory where our little children 
have run in practical work. We had tried the systems that 
have failed everywhere, as they failed with us, and we de- 
termined to take the Church on faith and follotv her method. 
The result, not of theorizing, but of doing, proved the 
wisdom of the Church. Our children were interested from 
the first; our teachers were enthused, and eighteen 
months gave us numbers of children whose familiarit)' 
with the Prayer-book was amazing, and during this time 
the character of the teaching force of the school was 
changed. Those who had charge of the children developed 
into teachers, and not merely " hearers of lessons." 

Our experience led us to believe that the Prayer-book 
would be welcomed in the Sunday-schools, because this 
was the Church's method of teaching, and because the 
Prayer-book was so easily taught. We told our experi- 
ence to the Church, but few believed that these things 

[11] 



INTRODUCTION 

could be true. Again we tell that experience. We have 
ordinary children, ordinary teachers, and the most ordi- 
nary rector, and yet we have gone on from start to gradua- 
tion, and not a difficulty has been met in the system, save 
that which must accompany education in every branch — 
the teacher must be in earnest, and the pupil must do 
his part. The result, as shown in the children and teach- 
ers of the school, has surpassed our fairest hopes. 

The Trinity Course makes the Prayer-book the text- 
book of the school, and no other book of reference is 
needed. The purpose of this system is to make the child 
familiar with the Church's Faith, Worship, and Govern- 
ment, and these are contained in the Prayer-book; and 
finally, to prepare the Church's child for an intelligent 
study of God's Holy Word. The best guide we have for 
the study of the Holy Scripture is the Book of Common 
Prayer. The Prayer-book is not only made up of the 
words of Holy Scripture, but contains the Bible itself 
written out more than three times and carefully arranged 
for intelligent reading. (See Tables for Lessons, etc.) 
Therefore the Prayer-book should be the text-book of our 
Sunday-schools, whether the study be hard or easy. If 
our grown people cannot teach the Prayer-book to the 
children, it is time we had learned the Prayer-book our- 
selves, and surely it is a sad commentary if our Clergy 
have to make this same acknowledgment of inability. 

We have burned many a gallon of midnight oil during 
the past two years pleading that the Prayer-book may 
have its rightful place in our Sunday-schools, and trying 
to persuade our brethren to test what for us has solved 
the ^^ Sunday-school problem." Now comes a request 

[13] 



I N T E O D U C T I O NT 

from a number of the Clergy that we conduct a class 
through the Book of Common Prayer, and publish in book 
form to show how the Prayer-book may be taught. 

This is a frightful test of the system, but because we are 
interested in the Sunday-school, and because we believe 
that the hope of the Church is in the child, we shall under- 
take the task. Let no one whose interest is in the sub- 
ject overlook the disadvantages under which we labor. 
We can only sketch an outline of question and talk. A 
score of questions will be suggested where we ask one; 
follow these suggestions, and you will become a teacher. 
We cannot see the little faces, nor feel the warm interest 
of little hearts. Others must fill the blanks which condi- 
tions will compel us to leave. 

We shall follow the Trinity Course of Church Instruc- 
tion, referring to this and to the Book of Common Prayer 
whenever it is necessary. 

Every child entering the Second Grade should have a 
copy of the Trinity Course of Church Instruction. 

We are to study the Church's system of instruction, 
and we must be true to it. The Church has never yet 
done a half work. Whatever she has undertaken has been 
done to a rounded completeness. Witness her services. 
We may not increase their beauty by adding to or by tak- 
ing away from them; we will mar them if we rearrange 
their parts. The services are complete. At no point has 
the Church more carefully guarded herself in this peculiar 
characteristic of completeness than in her system of in- 
struction. Her system is complete, not in its parts, but 
as a whole. Hence, I take for granted that we are to 
be true to the Church's system, beginning where she be- 

[13] 



INTRODUCTION 

gins, and following her through, until we are ready to 
enter the Bible class. 

Eead carefully the " explanation " at the opening of 
the Trinity Course, and especially the note regarding the 
Infant Class, on page 17. 



Note. — Numbers in brackets at beginning of chapters refer to 
pages in the Trinity Course. 



[U] 



Content^ 



The Author's Prefack .... 
Method of Introducing the Trinity Course 
Introduction to the System of Instruction 
Grade No. 1. The Church Catechism 
Grade No. 2. The Church Year . 
Two Great Divisions of the Church Year 



Sunday ........ 

Days and Seasons : Advent Season 

Review 

Christmas Season and the Circumcision . 
The Epiphany Season .... 

The Lenten Season 

suggesthe notes for teachers 

The Lenten Season 

The Easter Season 

Suggestive Notes for Teachers 

Ascension and Whitsun Seasons 

The Trinity Season .... 

Resume of the Second Grade . 

Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prayer 

Introductory Suggestions 

The First Title Page and Certificate . 

The Table of Contents and Ratification 

The Preface and Concerning the Service of the Chu 

The Psalter : Proper Psalms : The Order for Reading the 

Rest of the Scripture 

[15] 



PAOK 
, 5 

7 
. 11 
, 17 
. 19 
. 20 
. 21 



rch 



25 
27 
30 
33 
36 
39 
42 
45 
48 
53 
56 
60 
63 
63 
65 
66 
67 

68 



CONTENTS 

Church Music : Hymns and Anthems 
Tables for Finding the Lessons 
Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
The Book op Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
The Book of Common Prater 
Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prater 
Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prater 
Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prater 
Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prater 
Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prater 
Grade No. 3. The Book of Common Prater 



Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 
Grade No. 3. 



PAOE 

68 

68 

72 

76 

80 

84 

88 

92 

97 

102 

107 

111 

115 

119 

123 

127 

131 

135 



[16] 



€6e Ctinitp Cout^e of €|jutcl) '^n^ttnttitm 
GRADE No. I 

THE CHUKCH CATECHISM (pp. 18-19) 

'T' HE Church Catechism is the foundation of all Church 
teaching. Here we are taught our relationship to 
God. (First four questions.) God is our Father, and 
we are His children. We have a Christian name as well 
as a surname. Being God's children, we have some duties 
to perform. We must have confidence in our Father, and 
believe in Him (the Creed). We must obey our Father 
(the Ten Commandments). We must depend upon our 
Father, and ask Him for what we want (the Lord's 
Prayer). Then our Father will provide for our spiritual 
necessities and bestow upon us spiritual blessings (the 
Sacraments). These are the main divisions of the Church 
Catechism. 

The purpose of the First Grade of this system is to have 
the Church Catechism thoroughly taught, and accurately 
learned; for this reason we have advised that the Cate- 
chism be taught " word for word." And yet we have not 
forgotten that often-times the Eector will see the disad- 
vantage of this, specially among the older pupils, and nec- 
essarily so when the system is first introduced. Hence 
on page 18, near the bottom, there is a paragraph cover- 

[17] 



THE TEACHER^S COMPANION 

ing such conditions. When the system has been used long 
enough to have its children come up from the Infant 
class, the wisdom of the advice here given will be recog- 
nized. 

Again we suggested that the Catechism be taught just 
as it appears in the Book of Common Prayer. We did 
not mean that every child must have a Prayer-book in or- 
der to study and be taught the Catechism. Use the 
Primer if that is more convenient. 

Let the teacher of the First Grade understand that he 
is expected to turn his pupils over to the Eector or Super- 
intendent, knowing the Church Catechism; and that that 
is the purpose of this Grade. Leave the teacher free as 
to method of teaching. 



[18] 



€6e €nnitp €ont0t of €fyxvt^ "^n^ttnttitm 

GRADE No. 2 

I 

THE CHURCH YEAR (pp. 20-38) 

/^N" entering the Second Grade of the system, each 
^^^ child should have a copy of the Trinity Course. If 
the attempt is made to use the system with the book in 
the hands of the teacher only, the children will work at 
a disadvantage; home study is rendered impossible, and 
the concerted response from the whole school will be lost. 
We advise that the children be encouraged to furnish 
themselves with Prayer-books. We have found parents 
willing to assist in this matter. When individual owner- 
ship is not practical, let the children use the Prayer-book 
of the Sunday-school. In the Second Grade, the Prayer- 
book is not absolutely necessary. The first question asked 
by our teachers every Sunday is : " Have you brought your 
Prayer-book and the Trinity Course ? " In this way we 
have kept up with the books, and at the same time we are 
restoring the habit of "bringing the Prayer-book to 
Church." 

Note. — In this Grade require the Collect for the day. 
One Collect thoroughly learned each Sunday will greatly 
simplify the work later on. 

[19] 



THE TEACHEK^S COMPANION 

In the Catechism the Church lays the foundation of her 
teaching. In the Church Year is laid the foundation for 
an intelligent study of the Holy Bible. 

Foundations are important to the building, and they 
must be carefully laid. You will be expected to know the 
Church Year as you knew the Catechism, word for word. 
This can only be done by constant review. Let us read 
over the twenty-first page together. Better read it again. 
How many months in the Church Year ? How many days ? 
How many Sundays ? How many of each in the civil year ? 
Do we have seasons in the civil year ? Name them. How 
are farmers engaged in the spring? Something else be- 
fore they plant ? Yes, they prepare the soil, and then they 
sow, and then they keep the weeds away so that the plants 
may grow, and when harvest comes, they reap the crop. 
Did our Lord ever use nature to illustrate His teaching ? 
Eecall what He said about His kingdom and seed. Sup- 
pose seed are planted out of season, will they grow ? You 
will find seasons in the Church Year, too. (Many illustra- 
tions will be found along this line as you proceed.) Into 
how many great parts is the Church Year divided ? The 
first? How many months long? What are we taught 
during all this time? Why does the Creed come first? 
Could we worship and serve God if we had not heard of 
Him and did not believe in Him? We may say that the 
Creed is the backbone of the Christian character. What 
does the second half of the Church Year include ? How 
many months ? What are we taught during this time ? In 
what part of the Church Year do Christmas and Easter 
come? What seasons are about Christmas? What sea- 
sons about Easter? What are we taught at Christmas? 

[30] 



THE CHUECH YEAB 

What at Easter? How long is the second half of the 
Church Year ? What are we taught during that time ? 

SUNDAY 

Let us now read over the twenty-second page. What 
day of the week is Sunday ? What day did the Jews keep 
holy ? Why was the Sabbath day kept holy ? Of what did 
it remind the Jews? Why do we keep Sunday holy in- 
stead of Saturday? When was the change made? By 
whose authority? What is Sunday called in the Bible? 
Of what should Sunday remind us? What is the teach- 
ing of Sunday? What articles of the Creed express that 
teaching? I want you to get pp. 20, 21, and 22 perfectly 
and the Collect for next Sunday. Now open your Prayer- 
books where the Collects begin. Between this and the 
Communion Service all the days and seasons of the 
Church are found. Bring these written out for next 
Sunday. If time allows, the teacher will find here 
plenty to interest the class. A new world is opened to 
the children. Use these questions as a guide. Others 
will suggest themselves. Teach your mind to think and 
get your questions from the lesson. The object of the 
teacher is to draw out from the child what he knows, and 
to show him how to study. Talk as little to the children 
as possible. Get the children to talk to you, and guide 
their minds by the questions which you ask. The teacher 
will be surprised how rapidly questions will be suggested. 
Of course it is understood that the teacher is to learn the 
lesson that is given to the children. When the children 
are reciting, use the book only as a guide to thoroughness. 

[21] 



THE TEACHER S COMPANION 

We cannot determine the amount given each Sunday. 
That will depend on the class and on the teacher. Some 
children will advance more rapidly than others. Of this 
the teacher will be the best judge. The Second Grade 
should be thoroughly committed to memory in from four 
to six months. 



[33] 



GRADE No. 2 
II 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Continued) 

\X7H0 has brought the Prayer-book and the Trinity 
Course? (Ask this question every Sunday.) 
What Sunday is this? Repeat the Collect for the day. 
(Every Sunday.) Vary the questions, first to the whole 
class, and then to each individual. (Always review from 
the beginning to the day's lesson.) 

Into how many great parts is the Church Year divided ? 
(page 21). How many months in each? Give the first 
half. Where else is this teaching found? Repeat the 
Creed. (Let the teacher see that the exact words under 
(1) and (2), page 21, are learned. What you want is ac- 
curacy here, and it is worth while to stop, if the children 
are not accurate, and go over and over (1) and (2) until 
each child can repeat the words of the book. Let the 
class understand at this point that exactness is a large 
part of their work. Secure that at the start, and there 
will be no further trouble. Some children learn more 
readily than others; be patient with all, but do not ac- 
cept slovenly work from any. Require accuracy.) What 
seasons are about Christmas? What seasons are about 
Easter? To what part of the Church Year do these two 
seasons belong? To what part does Advent belong? and 

[23] 



THE TEACHER^S COMPAKIOK 

Trinity season? How long is the second half of the 
Church Year? What does it include? What are we 
taught during this half of the year? Eepeat the Ten 
Commandments. What day of the week is Sunday? 
What is it called in the New Testament? What else? 
(page 22). What happened on the first Lord's day? What 
day of the week was kept holy by the Jews ? Why ? What 
did the Jews understand by " keeping the Sabbath day 
holy " ? When was the change made from the seventh to 
the first day? What is the teaching of Sunday? Of 
what should every Sunday remind us? What articles of 
the Creed express this teaching? How should Christian 
people spend Sunday? On what day of the week are the 
services of the Church made most prominent? Why are 
Church people specially bound to attend these services? 
If these services are a part of Sunday's duties, can we 
disregard the services and at the same time keep the day 
holy? What is one of the surest ways of breaking the 
Fourth Commandment? Is it the duty of children as 
well as grown people to take part in the public services? 
The Church is our Father's house; where would be our 
earthly home if all of the children stayed away? How 
many in this class are accustomed to go to Church? If 
you do not go, why not? Suppose the Rector is not a 
social favorite, what should we do about the services? 
What principle should control our Church attendance? 
Why ? Can the work of the Eector counteract the evil in- 
fluences of our neglect of the Church? Why not? What 
relationship does the Sunday-school bear to the Church? 
What is a nursery ? Where is the nursery of the Church ? 
With what special duty is the Eector charged besides read- 

[34] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

ing the services? When is this teaching usually given? 
That teaching has a particular name; what is it? Does 
the value of this teaching depend on the manner of de- 
livery? If the people fail to hear the teaching because 
of wilful absence from the service, who is responsible? 
Can they plead their ignorance as an excuse? To what 
habit should we school ourselves regarding the services? 
What is habit? How are habits formed? What habits 
are you forming with respect to the services? Can any- 
body else form a habit for you? What is the difference 
between a habit and a character? What sort of character 
do habits of negligence form? How only can we hope to 
form a Church character? Name some of the things 
which may justify us in not attending upon the services 
of the Church. May we not, then, under such conditions, 
keep Sunday holy, and still not attend the services? We 
may be Tcept away from church by other duties; can you 
name any condition that could justify us in not keeping 
Sunday holy as God's day? 

Let us read over page 23. The teacher should com- 
pare the lists brought by the children with that on page 
23, and correct them accordingly. (The days and sea- 
sons here are those that have to do with our Lord's life. 
Large print are those expressed in the Creed.) Let us 
read page 24 together. What season is here mentioned? 
What does Advent mean? What is the teaching of Ad- 
vent? In how many articles of the Creed is that teach- 
ing expressed? Find them in the Creed. How many 
Sundays in Advent ? Do we say i7i or after or of Advent ? 
Which is proper, and why? Eead from your book (page 
24). What is the teaching of the four Sundays in Ad- 

[25] 



THE teacher's COMPANION" 

vent? Why are there four Sundays, and not more or 
less? Are the other week days of or in Advent? Why? 
Now, open the Prayer-book and find the Advent season 
there. Count the Sundays. What three things do you 
find at this point specially appointed for each Sunday? 
For next Sunday learn the days and seasons on page 23 ; 
the Advent season on page 24, and the Collect for next 
Sunday. Which of you will be at the service to-day ? 



[36] 



GRADE No. 2 
III 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Continued)' 

"ly^HO has brought the Prayer-book and the Trinity 
^^ Course? What Sunday is this ? Repeat the Collect 
for the day. Review the class from the beginning. How is 
the Church Year divided? (page 21). Require the words of 
(1) and (2). What two great centres of thought in the first 
half of the year? Give the teaching of each. What seasons 
are about each? What are we taught in the first half of the 
year ? How many months, weeks, and days are in the civil 
year? Do not business men acknowledge certain duties as 
belonging to each day of the civil year ? Can the fact that 
those duties are performed on one day absolve us from the 
duties that belong to another day? How many months, 
weeks, and days in the Church Year? Are the duties of a 
Christian confined to Sunday? If a man is engaged in secu- 
lar work during the week, how can he at the same time per- 
form the duty he owes to the Church ? ("Whatsoever ye do, 
in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.") On 
what day of the week does Sunday come ? Give the Script- 
ural names for the day. What is the teaching of Sunday ? 
Repeat the articles of the Creed expressing that teaching. 
What is ordinarily one of our chief duties on Sunday? If 
we are engaged on Sunday, how can we prevent Sunday work 

[27] 



THE TEACHER^S C M P A ]^ I N 

from interfering with the proper observance of the day? (Let 
the teacher ask every possible question that will bring out 
a clear understanding on the part of the pupil.) Eepeat the 
days and seasons of the Church Year (page 23). Why is 
Ash- Wednesday omitted in this list? Why are some days in 
small print and some in large letters? (The days and 
seasons of the Church Year are those which have to do 
with our Lord's life. Those in large print are men- 
tioned in the Creed. The pupil should know the list 
on page 23 accurately and repeat it without hesitation.) 
What is the first season of the Church Year? (page 24). 
Give its teaching in full. What articles of the Creed ex- 
press that teaching? How many Sundays in the Advent 
season? Give the teaching of each. (Eequire the words 
of the book.) Open your Prayer-book (page 23), and 
show the teaching of the first Sunday in Advent as 
brought out in the Collect for that day. (Read the Col- 
lect all together.) Show the teaching in the Collects for 
the remaining three Sundays in Advent. (Do not dwell 
on the Collects, only show the lessons in them. The im- 
pression left on the mind of the child is all you want 
here.) What is the teaching of the second Sunday in Ad- 
vent? Has the Church appointed any special plan for 
the reading of the Bible? Turn back in your Prayer- 
books to pages ix, x, xi, and xii. (Let the teacher read 
the top line of these pages with the class, and point out 
the use of each table, thus associating the Church's teach- 
ing on the subject of the Holy Scripture with the '^ Tables 
of Lessons " in the Prayer-book. The class does not learn 
the tables. Merely make the reference to connect the les- 
son that has been learned with its application as laid 

[28] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

down in the Prayer-book. If the pupils are old enough, 
and you have the time, you may also refer to page 557 
of the Prayer-book, and let the children read over Ar- 
ticle VI. Don't spend too much time on this, and do 
not suffer the reference to draw the mind from the main 
purpose in hand. Use the suggestions made to rest the 
mind from the drill on the Church Year.) What is the 
teaching for the third Sunday in Advent? What services 
are appointed to emphasize this teaching? (See pages 
510, 514, and 523 in the Prayer-book. Don't go further 
than to show these services in their connection with the 
teaching for the third Sunday.) For next Sunday get 
pages 25 and 26. Notice that in the Christmas season 
are three days. Notice how the teaching for the Sunday 
after Christmas supplements the teaching for Christmas 
day. Commit to memory the Collect for next Sunday. 
How many of you were at Church last Sunday? Who 
can attend the service to-day? 



[39] 



GRADE No. 2 
IV 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Continued) 

XX/THO has brought the Prayer-book and Trinity 
Course this morning? What Sunday is this? 
Repeat the Collect for the day. (It will be well to turn 
for a moment to the last Grade [say page 49], and let 
the pupil see the advantage of learning the Collects now 
one by one. The Collects taken up that way at the pres- 
ent time will greatly simplify the work later.) Review: 
Show how the Church Year is divided. Give the teach- 
ing of the first half. The second half. Group the sea- 
sons about Christmas and Easter. What are we taught at 
Christmas? What at Easter? Recall the page on Sun- 
day. Whose day is it? By whose authority was the 
change made from the seventh to the first day? (Better 
ask your Rector for the answer to this last question.) 
Give the teaching of Sunday. What articles of the Creed 
express that teaching? Repeat the days and seasons of 
the Church Year (page 23). In what part of the 
Prayer-book do you find these days and seasons specially 
recorded? How many months from Advent to Trinity? 
How many from Trinity to Advent? What is the teach- 
ing of the Advent season? Give the articles of the Creed 
expressing that teaching. How many Sundays in the 

[30] 



THE CHUECH YEAR 

season? Give the teaching of the first. The second. 
The third. The fourth. Why has the Church given us 
only four Sundays in this season? To what season does 
Advent lead us? How is Christmas related to Advent? 
How is Advent related to Christmas? What is the teach- 
ing of the Christmas season? How many special days are 
here marked in the Christmas season? Name them. 
What is the teaching of Christmas day? What is the 
teaching of the Sunday after Christmas? How does the 
teaching of the Sunday after Christmas supplement the 
teaching of Christmas day ? Why are there not more Sun- 
days after Christmas? [At Christmas we are taught the 
nature of Christ (page 21). He is perfect God and per- 
fect man. The Scripture appointed for Christmas day 
teaches His Divinity. The Scripture for the Sunday after 
Christmas teaches His Humanity. His nature is thus 
fully revealed, and there is no more to be added. Hence 
the Church gives us only one Sunday after Christmas.] 
(Sometimes there is a second Sunday because of the day of 
the week on which Christmas comes. But in that case, 
see rubric.) What is the teaching of the Circumcision? 
How old was our Lord on this day? How many days 
after Christmas does the Circumcision come? By what 
other name is this day called? Is it a Church day or a 
civil day? How long has this been observed as a Church 
day? How long has the first day of January been the 
beginning of the civil year? How should Christian peo- 
ple observe the day? How is it observed in the world? 
What service of the Prayer-book corresponds with the ser- 
vice of the Circumcision? (See Prayer-book, page 244.) 
What is the teaching of the day? The teaching of the 

[31] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

Circumcision is not expressed in the Creed as an article 
of faith — how is the teaching of the day related to the 
Creed? (The Creed is the statement of our Faith; the 
teaching of the Circumcision of Christ is obedience to the 
will of God. " Faith without works is dead." If we be- 
lieve, we must obey. Therefore, the teaching of the Cir- 
cumcision involves the whole creed.) Name the three 
days closely associated with Christmas day. St. Stephen, 
St. John, and the Innocents were all martyrs or witnesses ; 
how did they differ from each other? Who are martyrs 
to-day? For next Sunday learn page 27 and the last half 
of page 28 perfectly. Eead over the first half of page 28 
attentively. Learn the Collect for next Sunday. Who 
were at church last Sunday? How many will be at the 
service to-day? (If time allows) open your Prayer-book 
and find the Confirmation Service. What service precedes 
it? What follows? What Sunday is this ? Find the first 
and second lesson for the Morning and Evening Service. 
Listen for these when the Eector announces the lessons. 
Find the Psalter for the day. (The teacher will use the 
references to the Prayer-book as a rest to the class, but 
do not let the references take up time or interfere with the 
real work of drill on the Church Year.) 



[32] 



GRADE No. 2 
V 

THE CHUECH YEAR (Continued) 

/^ UE lesson for to-day is the Epiphany Season. What 
^^^ does the word Epiphany mean ? What is the teach- 
ing of the season? (page 27). Who are Gentiles? To 
whom was our Lord manifested at Christmas? Who are 
Jews ? Are there any people in the world who are not in- 
cluded in one of these two terms? What article of the 
Creed expresses the teaching of the Epiphany Season? 
What does the word Catholic mean? How does this ar- 
ticle express the teaching of the Epiphany? You say in 
the Creed, " I believe in the Holy Catholic Church." WTiat 
does the title " Eoman Catholic" mean? (Eoman means 
peculiar to Eorae. Catholic means universal. You 
should be careful in the use of these terms, and never 
confound them.) Is the Epiphany a fixed or a movable 
day? When does it come? To what nation did the 
Blessed Virgin belong? Who had foretold the birth of 
our Lord? To what nation did the prophets belong? To 
whom was our Lord's birth foretold ? To whom had God 
made promises that were fulfilled when our Lord was 
born ? What day do we celebrate as our Lord's birthday ? 
To whom, then, was our Lord manifested at Christmas? 
Are we Jews? If at Christmas our Lord was manifested 

[33] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

to the Jews, and to the Jews only, how have we who are 
not Jews become partakers of the blessings of Christians ? 
(This is the meaning of the Epiphany Season, and this is 
its importance in the Churches system of Christian edu- 
cation. The three kings were the representatives of the 
Gentile world, just as the shepherds were the representa- 
tives of the Jews, and in this way the birth of our Lord 
was made known to the whole world. We might call the 
Epiphany in a certain sense the Gentile Christmas.) What 
kind of messengers did God use to tell the Jews that our 
Lord had been born? What means did He use to make 
it known to the Gentiles and to lead them to the manger ? 
Yes, God used a star for the Gentiles, and He sent angels 
to tell the Jews. I suspect there is a great thought for 
us in this fact. A star would probably have been mean- 
ingless to the Jews, and an angel would probably have 
frightened the Gentiles. God had often spoken to the 
Jews by the visit of an angel, and the Wise Men of the 
East were students of the heavenly bodies. God chose a 
messenger that was best suited to each. So God speaks 
to us to-day through the things that belong to our or- 
dinary life. (He speaks to the mother through her child. 
To fishermen He said, ^^ I will make you fishers of men." 
To vine dressers, " I am the vine." Use the many illus- 
trations that suggest themselves to make the thought 
clear.) How many Sundays after the Epiphany? Give 
the teaching of each. To what Sunday in Advent does 
the last after Epiphany correspond? What do you mean 
by one corresponding with the other? What three days 
are closely associated with Christmas? What does the 
word martyr mean? In this sense, who are the Church's 

[34] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

martyrs to-da}^? Back to what season does the Epiphany 
look? What is the teaching of Christmas season? (Ee- 
quire these words accurately.) What article of the Creed 
expresses this teaching? How many Sundays after 
Christmas? Give its teaching. What is the teaching of 
the Circumcision? Is the Circumcision mentioned in the 
Creed? What relationship does the teaching of Circumci- 
sion bear to the whole Creed? What season precedes 
Christmas? How is Christmas related to this season? 
What is the teaching of Advent ? Give the articles of the 
Creed expressing that teaching. How many Sundays in 
Advent season? Give the teaching of each. Repeat the 
days and seasons in the Church Year. Give the number 
of Sundays in each season as far as you have learned 
them. Show how the Church Year is divided. How 
many of you were at service last Sunday? Who can at- 
tend to-day ? For next Sunday learn page 29. Don't for- 
get your Collect for the day. 



[35] 



GRADE No. 2 
VI 

THE CHIJECH YEAR (Continued) 

\XyHO has the Trinity Course and the Prayer-book? 
Let us repeat the Collect for the day. Our les- 
son is the Lenten season (page 29). We will first review. 
How is the Church Year divided? How much time does 
the Church devote to each part? What are we taught in 
the first half? What in the second? Why is the Creed 
placed first? What does St. James say about faith with- 
out works? If we believe^, what must we strive to do? 
Where do we find our duty? What two great days are 
found in the first half of the Church Year? Eepeat the 
days and seasons of the year. Give the teaching of 
Advent and the articles of the Creed that express that 
teaching. How many Sundays in the season? Give the 
teaching of each. What season follows? How is Advent 
related to Christmas? How is Christmas related to 
Advent? Could Christmas come before Advent? Could 
Christmas come anywhere in the Church Year except 
where it does come? Why not? What do you mean by 
sequence of thought? (You will do well to watch the care 
with which the Church observes this law throughout her 
system of instruction. There is no chance in the arrange- 
ment of her seasons; one must follow the other in the 

[36] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

exact order in which they come.) What is the teaching 
of the Christmas season? Give the article of the Creed. 
Show how the teaching for the Sunday after Christmas 
supplements the teaching of Christmas Day. What great 
lesson was taught when our Lord was circumcised? 
(Adam's first act was one of disobedience. Our Lord said 
at a later time, " My meat and drink is to do the will of 
Him that sent Me.") What season follows Christmas? 
Give the teaching of the Epiphany and the article of the 
Creed expressing that teaching. How many Sundays 
after Epiphany ? Are all these Sundays used every year ? 
What determines the number of Sundays after Epiphany 
each year? Give the teaching of each Sunday after the 
Epiphany. Let the teacher call careful attention to page 
28. It is important to have clearly impressed upon the 
child's mind the change of thought that comes over the 
Church's teaching at this point. All through the Epiph- 
any season we have been looking back to Christmas. 
When the Epiphany season is over the Church turns her 
face forward to Easter. The seasons that centre about 
Christmas are passed, and in the Lenten season we enter 
upon those that centre about Easter. For this change of 
thought and teaching the Church prepares the way by 
placing three Sundays between Epiphany and Lent. 
These may be called the preparatory season of Lent. 
Name these three Sundays, and give the teaching of each. 
The teaching of each of these Sundays begins with the 
word " duty." Why is this ? In this thought you will 
find a very accurate meaning of Lent. Lent is a season 
of self-examination. We must have some standard by 
which to try ourselves, and the Church points out God's 

[37] 



THE TEACHEK^S COMPANION 

law as that standard. We have duties to perform. They 
are to God, to ourselves, and to our neighbor. If we would 
discover our shortcomings we must know what is required 
of us. Hence these three Sundays of Preparation point 
out the duties we owe, and to whom. How long is the 
Lenten season? When does Lent always come? What 
does the word Lent mean? What is the significance of 
that term ? Where do you find " spring ^' mentioned as 
a season? How are farmers engaged in the spring time? 
What relation does the work then done bear to the grow- 
ing of seed and the harvest? Will seed grow to the best 
advantage and bring forth most fruit on ground that has 
not been ploughed? Can you recall the parable of the 
sower ? What days are in Lent, and yet do not belong 
to the season ? Why are Sundays never fast days ? What 
is the teaching of the Lenten season? What article of 
the Creed expresses that teaching? On what day of the 
week does Lent begin? What is that day called? What 
is the teaching of Ash- Wednesday ? How many Sundays 
in the Lenten season? (page 29). Give the teaching of 
each. (You will notice that Lent does not close, as do 
Advent and Epiphany, with a practical lesson to the peo- 
ple; the reason is that Lent is not a complete season in 
itself. Lent is a preparatory season for Easter, and its 
lessons hasten on to that great feast day.) For next Sun- 
day learn pages 30, 31, and 32. Do not forget the Col- 
lect. How many of the class can be at the service to-day ? 
Children, you have learned about one-half of the Church 
Year. 



[38] 



GRADE No. 2 
VII 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Continued) 

"^f OTE. — By this time the teacher will have observed 
that we have in mind one definite purpose. We are 
studying in the Second Grade the Church Year, and our 
purpose is to get the Church Year clearly before the child. 
Hundreds of side issues suggest themselves, and numbers 
of irrelevant questions come up; all these we avoid. Our 
purpose is a single one, and we do not lose sight of it, nor 
do we permit the child to lose sight of it. " One thing 
at a time, and that well done," is the motto. If the child 
wearies of the drill, we rest the mind for a moment, al- 
ways using something that is immediately connected with 
(he thought in hand. For that reason refer to the Book 
of Common Prayer for an illustration, and not to a Chi- 
nese puzzle-box for entertainment. Childish entertainment 
is one thing; winning and holding the child's interest 
and attention is another. The teacher will do well to 
meditate on this distinction, for therein lies the art of the 
instructor. The Church's system of teaching is marked 
by two very striking characteristics: (1) Unity of 
thought; (2) Sequence of thought. To contradict either 
is to occasion confusion in the mind of the child. To 
secure unity of thought, and therefore clearness of con- 

[39] 



THE teacher's C M P A N I IT 

ception, the Church has devoted a number of Sundays 
(weeks) to the single teaching of each Season. She in- 
troduces no extraneous matter^ nor does she for a moment 
leave the thought in hand until " he who runs may read." 
We have endeavored to emphasize this method by the man- 
ner of our question. The best results are attained only by 
continual review. The class must be carried over and over 
the ground until the answers fall out as the letters of the 
alphabet. You are laying a foundation; see that every 
stone is well laid and cemented. Once get the Church 
Year clearly in the mind of the child, and you have 
opened the door to all that is to follow. The Book of 
Common Prayer becomes an open book; the Collects, 
Epistles, and Gospels have their meaning, and the child 
is ready for an intelligent study of the Holy Bible. If 
you muddy the waters at this point, the stream will not 
clear to the end. Drill your children over and over in the 
Church Year;, and do not rest content until every child 
has the Days and Seasons at the very finger's point; un- 
til each child can run over the Church Year as children 
run, blindfolded, over familiar playground. I do not 
know but one way of teaching the " multiplication table," 
and that is to teach it. If you stop to "explain" each 
step, the child will not understand the explanation, nor 
will the child learn the table. Teach the table, and after 
a while the child will learn its value in its use. Teach the 
Church Year ; use every means to keep the interest of the 
class, but sacrifice nothing to the main purpose of this 
Grade. The teacher who is unwilling to learn that which 
is assigned to the class cannot and does not deserve to suc- 
ceed. Exchange places with your children at times; get 

[40] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

one of the class to teach the lesson, and let the teacher 
take her place among the children to be questioned with 
the rest. You will be amazed at the effect of this. Your 
children will be aroused to renewed interest when they 
discover that their teacher is studying with them, and 
does not depend on " the book " to " hear the lesson." 

Let the lesson for to-day be a general review of the 
Church Year from the beginning to the point which we 
have reached. Do not forget the Collect for the day, and 
remember to ask which members of your class can attend 
the service to follow. Whenever you have time, after 
going over the work of the lesson, you cannot engage in 
a better or a more instructive pastime than that of turn- 
ing the leaves of the Prayer-book. You will find it an 
unknown volume to your children, and as a book of illus- 
tration of Christian doctrine. Christian living, and Chris- 
tian instruction it has no equal. There is not a thought 
in the Church Year that does not find its counterpart in 
one or more of the services. Therefore spend all of your 
spare time in asking questions that require for their an- 
swers the turning of the leaves of the Book of Common 
Prayer. Take again to-day^s lesson for next Sunday 
(pages 30, 31, 32). 



[41] 



GRADE No. 2 

VIII 

THE CHUECI-I YEAE (Continued) 

IITOW many children in the class? How many copies 
of the Trinity Course and Prayer-book? (Let the 
teacher guard against carelessness in this respect. Now 
is the time to form habits of bringing the Prayer-book to 
church.) Let each child repeat the Collect for the day in 
turn. (It is important that the Collect for the day should 
be carefully committed to memory. The last Grade will 
require you to know each Collect, and if you will commit 
them one by one now, you will greatly simplify the work 
that will come later. Habits of accuracy are easily 
formed, but they must he formed, and much depends upon 
the requirements of the teacher; your children will be 
satisfied to do whatever satisfies the teacher.) (By the 
way, the last time the Eector catechised the Sunday-school, 
I missed some of the voices of my children. Make it a 
rule always to answer in full voice. N'ever mind aboat 
mistakes. If you make a mistake, make it out loud, so 
that it may be corrected. Always speak out loud in the 
catechising ; it will teach you to speak out loud in the 
responses of the Church services. The Church requires 
the Rector to catechise the children regularly, and you de- 
prive him of the chief pleasure in performing this duty 

[42] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

if you muffle your voices. Speak out loud.) Our lesson 
for the day closes the Lenten lesson. Let us see how 
much of the Church Year we know. Divide the Church 
Year. What are we taught in the first half? What in 
the second ? The baptismal service requires that we shall 
be "taught the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten 
Commandments '' ; we know where two of these are 
taught, but where are we taught the Lord's Prayer ? ( See 
every service of the Prayer-book.) Tell me what you 
have learned about Sunda}^, its institution, its observance, 
the articles of the Creed that express its teaching, the 
change from the seventh to the first day, and by what au- 
thority? How did the Jews keep the Sabbath day holy? 
Should Christian people be less careful than were the 
Jews? What principle should govern us in this respect? 
Name the days and seasons of the Church Year. What 
does Advent mean? How many Sundays in the season? 
Give the teaching of each. What season follows? Give 
its teaching and the article of the Creed. Give the teach- 
ing of the Sunday after Christmas, and of the Circum- 
cision. What season follows? How many Sundays after 
Epiphany ? Give the teaching of each. On what day does 
the Epiphany come? What relation do the Advent and 
Epiphany seasons bear to Christmas? Name the three 
days preparatory to Lent. Why are these days placed 
here? What change of thought comes over the Church's 
service and teaching at this point? What is the meaning 
of the word " Lent" ? From the meaning and use of this 
word, what would you think the Church meant by giving 
us the Lenten season? How do you think we should ob- 
serve Lent? How is the amount and the quality of food 

[43] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

we eat related to our observance of Lent? How may we 
make it an important matter ? How many days in Lent ? 
What days are of Lent, and what days are in Lent, and 
what is the distinction? Give the teaching of Ash- 
Wednesday, and of each Sunday in the season. What is 
the teaching of the Season ? Give the article of the Creed 
that expresses that teaching. Name the three days that 
are specially marked in the last week of Lent. What is 
commemorated on the Thursday before Easter? What on 
Good Friday? What is the teaching of Good Friday? 
Repeat the article of the Creed that expresses that teach- 
ing. What day follows Good Friday? Give its teaching 
and the article of the Creed that expresses that teaching. 
What names are given in the Scripture to " the place of 
departed spirits "? (Ask your Rector.) For next Sunday 
learn the Easter Season, page 33. How many were at 
service last Sunday? Who will be present to-day? Do 
not forget the Collect. 



[44] 



GRADE No. 2 
IX 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Continued) 

\\7^0 has brought the Book of Common Prayer and 
the Trinity Course? Let us repeat the Collect 
for the day in turn. Our lesson to-day is the Easter Sea- 
son (page 33). To what part of the Church Year does 
Easter belong? What Seasons are grouped about Easter? 
What are we taught during these Seasons? (see page 
21). What other great day comes in the first half of the 
year? What Seasons are grouped about it? What are 
we taught during these Seasons? (see page 21). What is 
the teaching of Easter Season? What articles of the 
Creed express that teaching? On what day of the week 
does Easter come? What is that day called in the New 
Testament? How many Sundays are in the Easter Sea- 
son? What is the first one called? What is the teaching 
of Easter Day? What two days are specially marked in 
Easter week? With what does the Church furnish us in 
the Scripture chosen for those two days? What are some 
of the proofs of the resurrection of our Lord, not men- 
tioned in the Scripture? (Sunday taking the place of 
the Sabbath. The existence of the Church. The pass- 
ing away of the Jewish Sacrifice. The condition of the 
Jewish nation to-day.) What is one of the most unan- 

[45] 



THE teacher's COMPAN^ION 

swerable proofs of the resurrection of our Lord? (The 
daily life of every consistent Christian.) What is the 
teaching of the first Sunday after Easter? The second? 
The third? The fourth? The fifth? To what other Sun- 
days does the teaching of this last Sunday after Easter 
correspond? Show the correspondence. Why does the 
Church close every season this way? The exception is 
Lent. Why? Open your Prayer-books at the Collect for 
Easter Day; you wdll find a word there used out of the 
ordinary sense, "As by thy special grace 'preventing' 
us.^' Turn to the Collect for the seventeenth Sunday after 
Trinity, and you will find the same word. What is the 
ordinary meaning of the word " prevent," and what is its 
meaning in the Collects referred to? How does the word 
get these two meanings ? The word as here used is called 
" obsolete." There are one or two other obsolete words in 
the Prayer-book. When you get a little further on in this 
study and compare the Prayer-book with other standard 
books written about the same time it was translated, you 
will wonder that there are so few obsolete words, and you 
will have to answer the question : Who has preserved the 
language of the Prayer-book and kept it so pure? The 
same is true of the language of the Bible, and these two 
Books are the only exceptions. The English language 
has grown away from other books, but it has grown out 
of and around these two. I wonder why ? Into how many 
great parts is the Church Year divided? What is the 
teaching of the first half? What of the second? How 
much of the civil year does the Church year cover ? What 
is the teaching of Sunday ? Give the Articles of the Creed 
expressing that teaching. Name the Days and Seasons of 

[46] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

the Church Year. What is the teaching of Advent ? Give 
the Articles of the Creed. How many Sundays in the Ad- 
vent Season ? What is the teaching of each ? Why would 
it be incorrect to say " the first Sunday of Advent ? " 
What Season follows Advent? What is the relation be- 
tween the two? Give the teaching of Christmas Day and 
that of the Sunday after Christmas, and show wherein 
one supplements the other. What Article of the Creed 
expresses the teaching of Christmas? This is one of the 
articles of Advent: Why should it be repeated at Christ- 
mas? Through what Season does the Christmas thought 
continue ? What is the meaning of the word " Epiph- 
any " ? What is the teaching of the Epiphany Season ? 
In what month and on what day does the Epiphany come ? 
What Article of the Creed expresses the teaching of the 
Epiphany? How many Sundays after the Epiphany? 
Give the teaching of each. What determines the number 
for each year? What Season follows the Epiphany? 
Why are three Sundays placed between the two Seasons? 
What are those Sundays called? Give the name and the 
teaching of each. What is the teaching of Lent? Give 
the Article of the Creed. On what day does Lent begin? 
Why is it called Ash-Wednesday ? Our time is up. Who 
will be at church to-day? Learn pages 34 and 35 for 
next Sunday, and do not forget the Collect. 



[47] 



GRADE No. 2 
X 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Continued) 

O OME one, looking forward to the Sunday-school as 
the most fitting place for Church work, asked the 
question: What is required of your teachers? We think 
the question one of general interest, for it has to do not 
with the special rules of a given school, but with the suc- 
cess of all those who would engage in this most important 
department of Church work. It is not possible to create 
a teacher by the passage of certain rules of government; 
a school may be controlled by rules, but thus may not 
teachers be made. There are certain simple things to be 
kept in mind, and to be acted on, and these every one who 
intends to do the work of the Sunday-school must require 
of himself. 

1. As strange as it may seem at first glance, the first 
requisite for a successful Sunday-school teacher is neither 
knowledge already acquired nor marked ability to impart 
the same. If you are to teach in the secular school, the 
authorities must first be certified that you know the sub- 
jects to be taught, as well as that you are apt to teach. 
[N'ot so in the school of the Church. Something else is 
of far more importance in the Sunday-school than knowl- 
edge of the subjects to be taught there, and ability to teach 

[48] 



THE CHUKCH YEAR 

the same. It is a fact, that among our most successful 
teachers in the Sunday-school are those who would not 
stand out prominently for their knowledge of subjects 
pertaining to theology. This knowledge is not to be un- 
derrated, neither must it be permitted to usurp the place 
that belongs to other things. You may know all that is 
required for holy orders, and yet not know enough to be 
a teacher in the Sunday-school of the Church; and on 
the other hand, your attainments may be exceedingly lim- 
ited, and yet your work may place you among the best 
and the most successful instructors in the same school. 
If you desire to succeed as a Sunday-school teacher, the 
first requisites are earnestness of heart and singleness of 
purpose. If you have these qualities all else that is needed 
to make of yourself the best of Sunday-school teachers can 
be easily attained. (The exceptions to this are so rare 
that they need not be noted.) Earnestness of heart will 
lead you to a personal interest in the life and growing 
character of each of your pupils, and singleness of pur- 
pose will force you to place a new and proper value upon 
the influence of your manner of living over the lives of 
the little children intrusted to your care. The test of a 
Sunday-school teacher is in the kind of influence she 
wields, not in the amount of knowledge she happens to 
have stored away. If you are in earnest you will regard 
every child in your class as a plant growing under your 
hand, and growing morally by feeding upon the surround- 
ings which your example casts about the plant. 

2. The work of the Sunday-school is purely moral, both 
in the nature of the instruction and in the control of the 
pupils. You have a class, but you cannot enforce attend- 

[49] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

ance, nor can you compel the children to study by meth- 
ods resorted to in secular schools. This is not to make 
chance the master of the situation. The Sunday-school 
teacher really has a control over her children, if she will 
use it, which is more telling than that of the secular 
teacher. In the former the teacher can set her own 
standard of excellence, and if she will but win the inter- 
est and affection of the pupils, her standard will become 
the class standard. This cannot be done by coming to 
Sunday-school sometimes during the month and " hear- 
ing lessons '' when you happen to come. Children detect 
in a moment the difference between the sympathetic touch 
of the human heart and the metallic emptiness of a talk- 
ing machine. That which makes one Sunday-school 
teacher a success and another a dismal failure is not in the 
make-up of the class, but in the requirements which each 
teacher demands of herself. Therefore the question sug- 
gested is one of general interest, and in reply we ask the 
privilege of offering a thought or two. 

3. The teacher must first he sure of herself. Never 
mind about the children — they are the material to be 
moulded. The matter of chief importance to start with 
in this connection is the mould and the moulder, and these 
the teacher must consider herself to be. In general terms, 
almost anything can be made of the children. If in one 
sentence the attempt is made to cover the whole ground, 
we would say that the young lady or the young gentleman 
(youth being only a relative term) who is playing Church 
will do well not to undertake the work of the Sunday- 
school. If you are not a Churchman; if in your mind 
the Church is not God^s house of prayer — a place to be 

[50] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

reverenced and to be regarded as the most sacred and the 
most holy spot on the earth — there is another work for 
you to do that will require so much of your time as to 
leave none for teaching others. If in your mind the chil- 
dren intrusted to you are not the Church's children, and 
the rapidly advancing material out of which to-morrow's 
congregations are to be made, you will do well not to 
undertake to fashion the Church character of those chil- 
dren. Little crabs walk sideways, and there is an evident 
reason for it. 

4. If you are in earnest in this work, you will make 
yourself regular in the attendance upon the Sunday- 
school. It is impossible to secure regularity on the part 
of the children save through the example of the teacher. 
But there is a kind of regularity that proves a personal 
contempt for the work. I have known teachers who were 
regularly late. There is at times an excuse for absence; 
there is no excuse for lateness, except in the case of death 
— we sometimes speak of the " late Mr. Blank," but that 
is only after a funeral. If you are in earnest, you will 
be punctual as well as regular. 

5. Your interest in the children must be a personal 
one. You must know your pupils in their homes; in the 
case of absence, you must go to the child's home and in- 
quire into the cause. A visit to a sick child will weld a 
lifetime's influence. You should know the parents and 
the home surroundings, for these will account for many 
of the little problems of the class-room. It is curious out 
of what surroundings even the most delicate and the most 
beautiful pond-lilies grow. 

6. Above all things study the lesson you give to your 

[51] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

children, and learn the lesson yourself as you would have 
the children learn it. Follow these simple suggestions, 
and you will make yourself not only a Sunday-school 
teacher, but you will become a power for good in the par- 
ish that is blest by your presence, your work, and your 
influence. You will have learned that the chief work of 
the Sunday-school teacher is to win the interest and atten- 
tion of the class where these are lacking, and to hold the 
interest where it has been won. 

In the work of the Sunday-school there is no place for 
discouragement. If the children are not what you would 
like them to be, your work will be to make them what 
they are not. This is a difficulty, but so is everything else 
that is worth the doing. The real value of the Sunday- 
school is not always measured by the progress of the child. 
" The kingdom of heaven is like unto a seed which a man 
sowed.'' This is what you are doing, and such seed some- 
times lie dormant for years. Be sure of the Tcind of seed 
you plant, and of the manner of your planting, leaving 
the growth to God and to the harvest. 



[53] 



GRADE No. 2 
XI 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Continued) 

/^UR lesson for to-day is the Ascension and Whitsun 
^^^ Seasons (pages 34 and 35). Has any one forgot- 
ten the Prayer-book or the Trinity Course? What Sun- 
day is this? Let the class first repeat the Collect for the 
day, and then let the same be repeated by each of the 
members. What does the word " Collect '' mean, and why 
is this little prayer called the Collect? Who established 
the seasons in nature and promised their continuance? 
(Gen. 8: 22.) By what authority were the months ar- 
ranged in the civil year? By whose authority were the 
Seasons and the Days of the Church Year laid out? (Let 
the teacher show the confusion that would exist in nature 
and in business if there were not regular seasons, and if 
the months did not follow each other in order; and use 
the illustration in emphasizing the meaning and value 
of the Seasons in the Church Year.) Into how many 
great parts is the Church Year divided? How long is 
each? What are we taught in the first half, and where 
do we find that teaching? Repeat from the Catechism 
the question and answer on the Creed. What are we 
taught in the second half of the Church Year? Where 
do we find that teaching? Repeat your duty to God and 

[53] 



THE TEACHER^S C M P A N I ST 

to your neighbor as found in the Catechism. What are 
we taught at Christmas and Easter, and tell the Seasons 
that are grouped about each of these Days ? Tell all you 
have learned about Sunday; on what day of the week 
it comes; with what day it corresponds under the Jewish 
law; when the change was made from the seventh to the 
first day of the week ; by whose authority the change was 
made ; how the Jews kept the Sabbath day holy, and how 
the Christian Sunday should be observed. What is the 
teaching of Sunday? Of what should every Sunday re- 
mind us ? What Article of the Creed expresses the teach- 
ing of Sunday? Eepeat the Days and Seasons of the 
Church Year. Point out the Seasons whose teachings are 
expressed in the Creed and those whose teachings are not 
so expressed. What is the difference between studying 
the Prayer-book and studying " about '^ the Prayer-book ? 
Where do you learn about the Prayer-book ? May you not 
know all this without opening the pages of the Prayer- 
book itself? Of what use would this alone be to you in 
the services of the Church? What is the first Season of 
the Church Year? Give the number of Sundays, the 
teaching of each, the teaching of the Season, and the Ar- 
ticles of the Creed expressing that teaching. What Season 
follows ? Give the teaching and the Article of the Creed. 
Show the relation between these two Seasons and that of 
the Epiphany. What is the teaching of the Epiphany? 
Give the Article of the Creed, the number of Sundays, and 
the teaching of each. What determines the number of 
Sundays in this Season each year? When will we have 
more and when less ? What change of thought takes place 
in the teaching of the Church when we pass the Epiphany 

[54] 



THE CHURCH TEAR 

Season? What Season follows? What three days are 
placed between the two? What is the teaching of those 
Sundays, and why are they placed here ? When does Lent 
always begin? Is the day of the month fixed? To what 
natural season does Lent correspond? What does the 
word " Lent " mean ? How does this indicate to us the 
purpose of the Lenten Season? How many Sundays in 
the Lenten Season ? Give the teaching of the Season, the 
article of the Creed expressing that teaching, and the 
teaching of every Sunday in the Season. What three 
special days come in the last week of Lent? Give the 
teaching to each, and the article of the Creed expressing 
the teaching of the last two. What Season follows ? Why 
should Easter come here and not at the first of the year? 
Show the effect of displacing any one of the Seasons of 
the Church. What Season follows Easter? On what day 
of the week does the Ascension fall? What is that day 
called in the Prayer-book ? Are " Palm Sunda}'," 
"Maundy Thursday," "Passion Week," and "Holy 
Week " Prayer-book terms ? If you find them to be so, 
use them ; if not, follow the language of the Prayer-book. 
How long after Easter is the Ascension? What is the 
teaching of the Day? Give the Article of the Creed. 
How many Sundays after the Ascension? What is its 
teaching? What Season follows? Give its teaching and 
the Article of the Creed expressing that teaching. For 
next time take a review of what we have learned ; try and 
be perfect in it. Do not forget the Collect. How many 
were at church last Sunday ? Who will be present to-day ? 



[55] 



GRADE No. 2 
XII 

THE CHURCH YEAR (Concluded) 

' I ^HIS paper closes the Church Year, as set forth in 
the Second Grade of the Trinity Course of Church 
Instruction. 

We have followed the teaching of the Church through 
one-half of her year, and should have clearly in our minds 
what is meant by " the Articles of the Christian faith as 
contained in the Apostles' Creed/' and we should also 
appreciate the importance of learning the Creed just as 
the Church teaches the same. There are two expressions 
frequently used by those who do not think seriously of 
these matters, and now is the time to be rid of them. One 
says, " I do not like a doctrinal sermon " ; another com- 
mends the " Gospel sermon " of the modern pulpit. We 
who have been studying the Creed as taught by the Church 
should know the danger that lies beneath these two state- 
ments. The word " doctrine " and the word " teaching " 
are derived from the same word and mean the same thing ; 
a doctrinal sermon is a sermon in which something defi- 
nite is taught. The Creed is the statement of certain facts 
which God has revealed concerning Himself, and a sermon 
based on any one of these facts would be a " doctrinal " 
sermon. A sermon on Christmas or Good Friday, on 

[56] 



THE CHUECH YEAR 

Easter or the Ascension, on the Church or our relation- 
ship to God would be a doctrinal sermon, and hence the 
statement, " I do not like doctrinal sermons " is the prat- 
tle of an unthinking person. The sermons recorded in 
the New Testament are all of this character. Take, for 
illustration, the sermon on the day of Pentecost, which is 
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, or any one of St. 
PauFs sermons; they are all doctrinal. The distinction 
made by the Church is safer ; we are first taught and then 
upon the basis of what we have learned we are expected 
to build our Christian character. Hence you will hear in 
the Church " teaching or doctrinal sermons," or sermons 
on the Creed, and what we may call, for want of a better 
word, "practical sermons," or sermons on the Command- 
ments and Lord's Prayer. These two must go together, 
but the teaching must always be done first. We must 
Jcnow in order that we may do, and to know we must be 
taught. The practical life is based upon what we have 
been taught. " Go ye into all the world and teach " is the 
Master's commission. This is the reason the Church is 
so careful to have us learn the Creed, and this is the rea- 
son that in the Church's system of instruction the Creed 
is placed first. From Advent to Trinity we are not only 
taught the Creed, but in the services of the Church the 
portions of Scripture appointed for the Sundays of this 
period are chosen with reference to this definite teaching. 
Beginning with the promise of His coming in Advent, the 
Church follows the life of our Lord, step by step, as it is 
recorded in the Creed — His birth. His suffering, His 
death. His descent into the place of departed spirits. His 
resurrection, His ascension, the coming of the Holy 

[57] 



THE teacher's COMPANION" 

Spirit, the establishment of the Church, the life eternal. 
This is the work we have been doing, and the importance 
of this work should be apparent; we have been laying a 
foundation. The Creed is the foundation of the Christian 
life, and hence we have insisted upon accuracy. In the 
foundation of a house there should be no breaks; one 
stone must be laid next to another; one stone must rest 
on another; one stone must be separated from another 
only by the cement which welds them all into a solid base, 
upon which the building is to be erected. In the Creed 
we are laying the foundation of our Christian character, 
and hence one Article must follow another by natural 
sequence; one Article must lead to another by the law 
of necessity, and all must be cemented together as the full 
and complete statement of our faith in God. Hence, too, 
may be seen the practical value of the Creed to each in- 
dividual Christian's personal life. A foundation has no 
meaning unless the building is raised upon it. Founda- 
tions are concealed by the building, and foundations are 
valuable only as they support the building that rests upon 
them. The Creed is the foundation upon which we build 
our Christian character. To stop short of the building; 
to be content with having learned the Creed, is to make 
the foundation a useless and a meaningless thing. Hence 
the Articles of the Creed must enter the practical every- 
day life of each individual who names the name of Christ. 
The foundation prepares the way for the building: the 
building presupposes the foundation. The Creed prepares 
the way for the personal life of the Christian: the per- 
sonal life presupposes the acceptance of the Articles of 
Faith contained in the Creed. Therefore the Creed leads 

[68] 



THE CHURCH YEAR 

US of necessity to the Ten Commandments. " If ye love 
Me, keep My commandments." To know should lead us 
to do, and therefore the first half of the Church Year 
leads us to the second half. In the services of the Church 
from Advent to Trinity we study the Creed, which is the 
statement of our faith in God; from Trinity to Advent 
we study the Ten Commandments, which is the statement 
of our duty based upon that faith. 

If the work which we have laid out has been done, your 
children will now know the Days and Seasons of the 
Church Year; the teaching of each and the Article of 
the Creed expressing that teaching; the number of Sun- 
days in each season, and the teaching for each Sunday 
from Advent to Trinity. The Trinity Season covers six 
months, but for the pleasure of teacher and pupil alike 
it may be said that the hardest part of your work is over. 
The teachings of the Sundays in the Trinity Season are 
grouped so naturally that there will be but little difficulty 
in committing them to memory. If the teacher will fol- 
low the suggestions here made, assigning for each Sunday 
a portion of the Season, and spending the rest of the time 
in a review of the whole year, it will be found that the 
children will commit the teaching of every Sunday of the 
Trinity Season in from four to six weeks. In teaching 
the Ten Commandments the Church seems to group cer- 
tain Sundays together, and it will be well for us to follow 
that order in learning the Trinity Season. 

The first group consists of Trinity Sunday, which gives 
us the statement of the Creed in full, and the two Sun- 
days that follow, in which the whole law is stated — our 
Duty to God and our Duty to our neighbor. 

[59] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

The second group consists of the third, fourth, and fifth 
Sundays, each of which begins with the word " trust." 

The third group consists of the sixth, seventh, eighth, 
and ninth Sundays, in the teaching of which are portrayed 
such characteristics as will be manifested in the heart and 
life because of our fear, love, and trust toward God. 

The fourth group consists of the tenth, eleventh, and 
twelfth Sundays, in each of which the teaching begins 
with the word " prayer." 

The fifth group consists of the thirteenth and four- 
teenth Sundays, in the first of which is stated our Duty 
to God, and in the second our Duty to our neighbor. 

The sixth group includes the rest of the Sundays of the 
season, and here the teachings follow by natural sequence. 
Fifteenth, the Church, of which God is the head; six- 
teenth, the Church, of which we are the members; seven- 
teenth, good works as a result of membership in that 
body, of which God is the head and we are the members; 
eighteenth, temptation comes, resist it; nineteenth, trying 
to do what is right and trying to avoid what is wrong, we 
are living the new life ; twentieth, this new life manifests 
itself in temperance, soberness, and chastity; twenty-first, 
not in our own strength; twenty-second, duty to God 
leads to duty to our fellow-man; twenty-third, yours be- 
comes a life of devotion; twenty-fourth, remission of 
sins; Sunday next before Advent, gather up the frag- 
ments. Let the pupils learn the teaching for each Sunday 
in the language used in the Trinity Course. 

It is worth while, before leaving the second grade, to 
pause a moment and see what we have accomplished. 

[60] 



THE CHURCH YEAB 

The children who have done the work herein required need 
fear no examination that can be given on the Church 
Year, and the teacher may congratulate herself that what 
has been taught has prepared the way for a thorough 
knowledge of " the truth as this Church hath received the 
same." You have not consciously taught the Bible, and 
your children are not conscious that they have been study- 
ing the Bible; and yet, under this system, both teacher 
and pupil have unconsciously absorbed the principle of 
intelligent Bible reading and Bible study, and already the 
foundation is laid for the Bible class that will follow the 
completion of the Trinity Course. If you would test this, 
you can now open the Holy Scripture at any place in the 
New or Old Testament and read to your class — the chil- 
dren will tell you " that is about Easter and the resur- 
rection; that is about Good Friday and the death of our 
Lord; that is about His return to the Father and the 
Ascension; that is the promise of the coming of the Holy 
Ghost, and was fulfilled on Whit Sunday," and so on 
throughout the reading. You cannot teach as the Church 
would have you that you do not teach the Bible. The 
only difference between the system you are using and other 
systems is that we gradually prepare the mind of the child 
for the study of the Bible, instead of forming a so-called 
Bible class of pupils who are not prepared for the study. 
Having learned the Church Year, you have the Bible al- 
ready systematized in your mind; and by the time you 
have followed this through the services of the Church and 
the Gospels and Epistles (third and fourth Grades), your 
children will be ready for the Bible class. The logical 
conclusion of the Trinity Course is the study of the Holy 

[61] 



THE TEACHER'S COMPANION 

Bible, for the intelligent study of which this course pre- 
pares us. 

After an examination on the Church Year your chil- 
dren should receive their Certificates and be advanced to 
the Book of Common Prayer, which is the work of the 
Third Grade of the Trinity Course. In the sixth and 
following editions are printed the Divisions of the ser- 
vices (page 173), and if you are using the earlier editions 
it will be well for the teacher to have the sixth. The 
children can readily commit the Divisions as they come 
to them. 

In case we have moved more rapidly than some teachers 
have been able to take their classes, you should not be 
discouraged. Each class must be measured by its own 
capacity. 

In our next paper the questions will be on the Book 
of Common Prayer. See that your children bring the 
Prayer-book and the Trinity Course every Sunday. Eead 
over carefully what is said of this Grade in the Trinity 
Course (pp. 41-43) ; the general directions therein given 
will direct the study of the Prayer-book. 



[63] 



€f)e €rimtp €our^e of Cfturcft ^Fn^tmction 

GRADE No. 3 

XIII 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Pages 41-43) 

TirTE enter to-day the Third Grade of the Trinity 
Course of Church Instruction. 
There is a broad diff eren ve between studying the Prayer- 
book and studying " about '* the Prayer-book. We learn 
about the Prayer-book by studying its history, and this we 
may thoroughly master, and at the same time have very 
little knowledge of the Book itself. If we are to study 
the history of the Prayer-book, it would be necessary to 
make reference to many other books that have been writ- 
ten on the Prayer-book, but this is not our purpose. We 
are to study the Book of Common Prayer itself^ and un- 
til that book is familiar to us we strongly advise that no 
book of reference be used by the teacher or pupil. (If 
any exception is to be made, we mention Barry's Teach- 
er's Prayer-book, and yet in the use of this we warn 
against substituting its notes in the place of the Book of 
Common Prayer. Let the Teacher's Prayer-book, if used 
at all, be used only at home to answer questions that arise. 
Do not bring it to the class.) Study the Prayer-book, and 

[63] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

do not mind for the present what other people have to say 
" about '^ the Prayer-book. If any questions are asked 
which you cannot answer from the Prayer-book, ask your 
Eector. When you get through with this grade, we can 
pick up the history of the Prayer-book, if you have a mind 
to, and we will be all the better prepared to understand 
and appreciate what is said " about " the Prayer-book. 
Bead carefully what is said in the Trinity Course, Grade 
3, pages 41-43. This is a mere outline for our guidance. 
We said no more in the Trinity Course because we did not 
wish to divert the mind from the Prayer-book itself. 
Note that on page 173 (sixth and following editions) are 
found the Divisions of the services. Every child should 
have a Prayer-book and a copy of the Trinity Course, and 
should be required to bring the same every Sunday. Do 
not forget the Collect for each Sunday in this Grade, as 
in the Second. 

I. Open your Prayer-books. The first thing is a Table 
for finding the places — this we will omit. What comes 
next? All read the page together. What would you call 
that page? How many Title-pages are there in the 
Prayer-book? Find the other two. (See pages 509 and 
555.) To what does each of these Title-pages refer? 
Into how many large parts may the Prayer-book be di- 
vided? With what does the first deal? (Faith and wor- 
ship.) The second? (Government.) The third? (The 
Articles of Eeligion may be dropped out of consideration 
until we reach them ; only do not confound " Articles of 
Faith " with the articles of religion. With the latter you 
will have nothing to do. In the Church of England the 
clergy are required to sign the articles of religion, but not 

[64] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

SO with us.) The Book of Conunon Prayer contains, then, 
(1) the Church's Faith and Worship; and (2) her Gov- 
ernment. In what form is the Faith expressed? To 
which of the three large parts mentioned does the Faith 
specially belong? Why does the Creed specially belong 
there? In what part is the Worship found? What re- 
lation does the faith bear to the worship ? How much of 
the Prayer-book does the Worship include ? Let the chil- 
dren open their Prayer-books and see for themselves. 
Where do you find the Discipline of the Church? (In the 
rubrics and canons.) Look at the first Title-page again. 
How much of the Prayer-book does it embrace? Name 
the Sacraments, the Rites, the Ceremonies. What is a 
Sacrament? How many are there? How does a Rite 
differ from a Ceremony? How do these two differ from 
a Sacrament? 

II. What follows the first Title-page ? What is the sig- 
nificance of the " Certificate " here mentioned ? What 
reason would you give as indicating the importance of 
such care? Illustrate by examples in coin, measures, and 
weights. 

III. What follows the Certificate? What is the use of 
the Table of Contents? Is such a table usually found in 
books? You will be expected to learn the Table of Con- 
tents just as it is found in the Prayer-book, but do not 
undertake to learn it all at once, and do not hold the class 
back for this. Learn a few numbers each week. After 
the seventh the rest are easy. Be sure to learn the very 
words, so that the whole school can answer together when 
the rector catechises all the classes. Xotice in the Table 
of Contents the line of separation after the Psalter, and 

[65] 



THE TEACHBE'S COMPANION 

again lower. These mark the divisions between the larger 
parts of the Prayer-book above referred to. 

IV. What follows the Table of Contents? Eead this 
over together. What is the significance of the Ratifica- 
tion? What duty does it impose upon all Church mem- 
bers? What solemn obligation does it impose upon the 
Clergy of the Church? May a Clerg}^man use extempo- 
raneous prayers in the public services of the Church? 
What do you mean by extemporaneous prayers? May a 
Clergyman make any change in an ordered form of ser- 
vice ? Eead the Ratification over and show its bearing on 
these two things. Do Clergymen ever use their own 
made-up prayers in the public services of the Church? 
(Children, let us whisper it. Wherever this is done, and 
by whomsoever, somebody has been studying " about " the 
Prayer-book, and not the book itself. You may be sure 
that no Clergyman would err in this respect intentionally, 
and when the congregations have been taught the Prayer- 
book and its requirements, the clergy will not err in this 
respect even unintentionally.) 

V. What follows the Ratification? Let the Preface be 
read aloud by the whole class. Do not require that the 
Preface be learned. A general knowledge of it is all that 
is needed. For next Sunday learn the first Title-page, 
the meaning of the Certificate, the first four numbers of 
the Contents, and the obligation imposed on all Church 
members b}^ the Ratification. Learn the Collect for the 
day. Who will be at the service to-day ? 



[66] 



GRADE No. 3 

XIV 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYEE (Continued) 

TJ EVIEW the portions gone over last Sunday and see 
that the children have a clear idea of the Title-page 
(recalling the other two); the Certificate; that they re- 
peat the first four numbers of the Table of Contents; the 
obligations imjDosed on us all by the Ratification. No 
more need be said for the present regarding the Preface. 

VI. Open your Pra3^er-books. What follows the Pref- 
ace? What services are here mentioned, and what state- 
ment is made regarding them? Turn in your Prayer- 
books to each of these services in the order in which they 
are mentioned. Mention again the liberty that is given 
respecting these services. What was the former custom 
in the use of these services? (Ask your Rector.) Against 
what is provision here made? What is said about the 
Litany ? What is the next liberty allowed ? What do the 
words " Select from this Book " mean ? Against what is 
a guard placed here? Does this allow or prohibit extem- 
poraneous prayers? How are the Psalms appointed to be 
read? Find the Psalter in the Prayer-book. What is 
said about Selections of Psalms? For what days are 
Proper Psalms appointed? Where else is this table to be 
found? (page 328). Are the Psalms a portion of the 

[67] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

Scripture? How often is the Psalter read through dur- 
ing the year, and at what services? What order is given 
for the reading of the rest of the Scripture? What lib- 
erty is given in the choice of Lessons for Sundays or Holy 
Days? What on Sunday evening? Suppose service is 
had and no Lessons are appointed, what Lessons may be 
used? What and when are other discretions permitted 
regarding Lessons to be read? Against what would you 
think the Church means to guard when she stipulates the 
discretions she proposes to allow? Should we, then, take 
liberties with the ordered services of the Church? If a 
special service, or a service for a special occasion, is to be 
had, who should arrange that service? Who is the Ordi- 
nary? What care should the Clergy take that the dis- 
cretions allowed bv the Church be not abused? How 
may a Clergj-man abuse these discretions? If extempo- 
raneous prayers are such an abuse, you have here another 
direction from the Church that they shall not be used. 
What directions are given regarding the Hj^mns and 
Anthems? Against what does this guard? Should 
Hymns that are not allowed to be sung in the services of 
the Church be used in the Sunday-school? Why not? 
Are " Moody and Sankey " and such-like Hymns excluded 
from the services of the Church? Should they, then, be 
sung in the Sunday-school? (We shall be permitted to 
call special attention of the teacher to this matter.) 

VII. What comes next in the Prayer-book? Eead the 
words at the top of the page. To what special Days is 
this Table confined? For how many services each Sun- 
day are Lessons here provided ? Glance down the left side 
of the page ; anything familiar ? Recall the Church Year 

[68] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

you learned in the Second Grade. In this Table the 
Church is following the seasons of her year. The Church 
Year presents the great facts that have to do with our 
Lord's life, and upon that Life is built our Faith as ex- 
pressed in the Creed. Hence we would say that the 
Scripture chosen for Sunday services is chosen with re- 
spect to the teaching of the Church Year, or the life of 
our Lord. What Sunday is this ? Look in the Table and 
find the Lessons appointed to be read at morning and 
evening service to-day. Let the teacher practise the 
pupils in finding the Lessons for other Sundays until each 
member of the class is familiar with the tise of the Table. 
Don't attempt to learn the table; learn how to use it. 

VIII. What is the next Table? Do Holy Days come 
at other times than on Sundays? How does a Holy Day 
differ from a Saint's Day ? Give examples of each. Find 
the Lessons for St. Stephen's day ; for Christmas day ; for 
Easter eve; for All Saints'. Continue the practice un- 
til the pupils are familiar with the use of this Table. In 
the first Table the Church chose the Scripture that re- 
lated to our Lord's life; what would you say was the 
Church's purpose in the choice of Scripture in the second 
Table? 

IX. What Table follows this? Learn the top of the 
page. Glance down the left side of the page and recall 
the Season of Lent as learned in the Second Grade. What 
is Lent? What is the purpose of the Lenten Season? 
Wliat would you say controlled the choice of Scripture to 
be read during this Season? How, then, will this third 
Table differ from the other two? Practise the pupils in 
the use of the Table. 

[69] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

X. What Table follows? What is this Table called? 
(The calendar.) For what purpose is this Table pre- 
pared? (For consecutive reading of the Scripture.) 
How many Tables of Lessons has the Church given us? 
Name them, and show for what purpose the Scripture is 
chosen in each. If we can know ahead of time the Script- 
ure to be read, what should be our rule before going to 
Church? As far as possible, how should we read the 
Scripture daily? You say the Church has given us four 
Tables for reading the holy Scripture ; if these portions of 
Scripture were written out in full, would they not belong 
to and be a part of the Prayer-book? But are not the 
references in the Prayer-book ? How often, then, does the 
Prayer-book contain the holy Bible? Why is the Bible 
only referred to in these Tables, and not written out in 
full? (It would make the Prayer-book too large.) When 
others say that the Church puts the Prayer-book in the 
place of the Bible, what answer should be made? What 
proof do these Tables enable you to offer of the Church's 
regard for the Bible? How may you show therefrom the 
care with which the Church has provided for the regular 
and systematic reading of the holy Bible ? 

XI. What follows the Table last mentioned? What 
is the difference between Movable and Immovable Feasts? 
Grive an example of each. What is the rule for finding 
Easter? When does Advent come? J^ote carefully the 
Table of Feasts. Learn and name the Fast days of the 
year. What are Ember days? Why so called, and when 
do they come? What are Eogation days, and when do 
they come? By what authority is Thanksgiving Day ap- 
pointed ? What day does the Church mention ? By what 

[70] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

authority may this day be changed? Is Thanksgiving 
Day a Church day or civil holiday merely? 

XII. Omit, for the present, the remaining Tables. 
Take as much of this for Sunday's lesson as you can 
learn. All should not be too much. Do not forget the 
Collect. Who will be at church to-day? 



[711 



GRADE No. 3 



XV 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Continued) 

rJAS any one forgotten the Prayer-book and the Trin- 
ity Course? Repeat the Collect for the day. How 
many Tables are there for reading the Scriptures ? Name 
them, and tell the purpose for which each is given. When 
do the Ember days come ? For what purpose are they ap- 
pointed? Are Ember days Fast or Feast days? When 
do the Rogation days come, and for what purpose are they 
appointed? When is Friday not a Fast day? 

XIII. What is the first service in the Prayer-book? 
Notice the fine print before the service begins. These are 
called the Rubrics. The word Rubric means " red," and 
these lines in the old books were in red ink. The Rubrics 
are the directions for the conduct of the service, and are 
the highest law of the Church. Let it be noted that no 
Clergyman has the right to disregard or disobey a Rubric. 
What order is given in the first Rubric ? What liberty is 
allowed in the other two ? Note — On pages 173-176 (sixth 
and following editions Trinity Course) will be found the 
Divisions of the various services. These should be ac- 
curately learned as each service is reached. Follow direc- 
tions on top of page 173. Turn to the Morning Prayer. 
What is the first thing in the service? The purpose of 

[73] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

these Sentences is to recall the mind from wandering and 
to prepare for the service. Note the following of the 
Church Year, as indicated on the right side of the pages 
of Sentences. There is a sentence appropriate for each 
Season. For special days the keynote of the service is 
struck in the opening sentence, and the theme is continued 
throughout the Scripture for the day. What follows the 
Sentences? Eead the Exhortation over together, and 
point out the purposes for which we are taught to go to 
Church. Let the teacher show the difference between go- 
ing to " preaching " and going to God^s " house of prayer." 
What follows the Exhortation? By whom is the General 
Confession to be said ? Read the Rubric. Let the teacher 
take this opportunity to impress the importance of clear- 
ness of speech in the responses in the service. Every word 
that is said in the service, whether by the Clergyman or 
by the people, should be uttered in a clear and a distinct 
voice. No excuse should be accepted for a Clerg3'man 
who mumbles the service, and none for a congregation that 
makes the responses in a half-hearted, listless manner. 
Instruct your children to repeat the Confession and all 
other responsive parts of the service in a clear tone and 
with a positive voice. This is great missionary ground. 
What follows the General Confession? Who says the Ab- 
solution? What is his attitude? What is the attitude 
of the people? (See Rubric.) Notice, there are two 
forms of the Absolution. Can a priest forgive sins? 
What, then, is the force and meaning of the Absolution? 
(It is called the Declaration of Absolution. It is an an- 
nouncement to God's people, by God's accredited minister, 
that if they have been faithful in the acknowledgment of 

[73] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

their wrong-doing, God has forgiven them. As the con- 
fession was a general one, so the absolution is general.) 
What follows the Absolution? By whom is the Lord's 
Prayer to be said? (See the Eubric.) What is the atti- 
tude of the people and the minister? What follows the 
Lord's Prayer? What are Versicles? Notice the change 
of attitude before the Gloria. The congregation changes 
its attitude many times during the services, and there is 
a meaning for each change. Generally speaking, we kneel 
for prayer; we stand for singing, and we sit for instruc- 
tion. The exceptions to this general rule will be noted. 
The service up to this point has been of a penitential nat- 
ure ; the service now becomes one of praise. What follows 
the Versicles? Notice the Rubric before the Venite. 
Whence is the Venite derived ? The Rubric next in order 
will tell you when the Gloria may and when it shall be 
said or sung. The three Rubrics following are important. 
It is here that the Psalter is read, and here the directions 
are given for the first Lesson. What follows the first Les- 
son? Are the words of the Te Deum taken from the 
Bible? The Te Deum is a hymn of praise. Let the pu- 
pils show the Articles of the Creed as they occur in this 
hymn. Ask your Rector whence are derived the words of 
the Benedicite. (The general custom is to sing the Bene- 
dicite during Advent, and specially during Lent, so as to 
make the Easter service grander with the Te Deum; and 
on. Trinity Sunday, because on that day the first Lesson 
is the story of the creation; but there is no law for this.) 
Notice the following Rubrics: Here the directions are 
given for the second Lesson. What follows? Notice the 
Rubric before the Creed. There is a liberty allowed here 

[74] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

for a change of words in the Creed. (The word 
" churches " probably does not mean congregations or 
parishes. Eeference is no doubt had here to National 
Churches.) Notice the two forms of the Creed. What 
follows? And this closes the Morning Prayer. It is 
usual to have a hymn at this point, and then follows the 
sermon. Now let us look back. Where does the Lord^s 
Prayer come, and why? (We have all confessed our sins; 
God's Minister has announced that if we are faithful God 
has forgiven us, and we all say " Our Father.") The 
Creed comes after hearing the Word of God, and before 
the prayers. Having heard, we ought to believe, and be- 
lieving, we ought to worship. The service does not con- 
sist of so many prayers, hymns, and readings jumbled 
together. There must be a relationship between the 
various parts of the service, just as there is a relationship 
between the various parts of the human body. One part 
of the service leads to another part. One part interprets 
another. The Jubilate naturally follows the good tidings 
of the Gospel; the words of the Te Deum express the 
Christian's acceptance of the teaching of the Old Testa- 
ment. A like sequence may be traced in the arrangement 
of the prayers. Learn for next Sunday the Divisions of 
the Morning Prayer (page 173). Read over the Rubrics, 
and learn the Collect for the day. Who were at service 
last Sunday ? Who can be present to-day ? 



[75] 



GRADE No. 3 

XVI 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYEH (Continued) 

T-JAVE all the Prayer-book and the Trinity Course? 
Repeat the Collect for the day. Eepeat the first 
four numbers of the Table of Contents. The teacher 
should review the class carefully, seeing that each child 
has clearly in mind the early part of the Prayer-book ; the 
meaning and importance of the Certificate and the Rati- 
fication ; the number and the use of the Tables for finding 
the Lessons; the Ember and Rogation days, etc. Repeat 
the Divisions of the Morning Prayer as found on page 
173 (Trinity Course). Be careful that the pupils do not 
simply commit these Divisions as so many lists of names. 
Each child should be required to point them out in the 
services, and thus associate the Divisions with the move- 
ment of the services. In this way, should the Divisions 
slip the mind, they can be recalled by thinking the service 
over. 

XIV. What service follows Morning Prayer ? Note the 
opening rubric in connection with the same for the morn- 
ing service. The evening service is so much like the 
morning that it is best to mark the difference (see page 
173, Trinity Course). Notice particularly the rubric be- 
fore the Lord's Prayer, and compare it with the same in 
the Morning service. The directions are made more brief 

[76] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

in the Evening service, and more brief still in the begin- 
ning of the Communion service, to which the attention of 
the class had best be called now. Teach your children 
always to say the Lord's Prayer out loud whenever it oc- 
curs in public service. The rubric in the Morning ser- 
vice covers every case, and the Lord's Prayer in the Com- 
munion service forms no exception. The rubric before 
the Lord's Prayer in the Communion service allows it to 
be omitted there if it has already been said in the Morn- 
ing service, showing that the Lord's Prayer has no special 
and particular use in the Communion service so far as our 
Prayer-book is concerned. We call attention to this fact 
because there is an effort made in some quarters to silence 
the voice of the people in the Lord's Prayer at the begin- 
ning of the Communion service. So far as the American 
Prayer-book is concerned, this is an individual conceit, to 
be avoided by those who have made the Book of Common 
Prayer the standard of Church teaching. Notice the 
Venite is omitted, thus placing the Psalter immediately 
after the first prayers in the Evening service ; another dif- 
ference is seen in the introduction of the Gloria in Ex- 
celsis. Find the Magnificat, the Nunc Dimittis and (in 
the Morning service) the Benedictus in the Bible, and tell 
the occasion of their utterance and by whom. From what 
part of the Bible are the other chants taken? How long 
have the Psalms been sung in the public service of the 
Church ? Where do the first and second Lessons come in 
the Evening Service? Find these lessons for to-day. 
Compare the versicles of the Evening Service with the 
Morning, and point out the difference. These short 
prayers are here placed in order to give the congregation 

[77] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

a distinct part in the service, and the answers should be 
spoken by the people in a voice as loud as that used by 
the Clergyman. Teach your children not to mumble their 
responses. Compare the three following prayers with the 
same number in the Morning service, and point out the 
difference. Notice the rubrics following the Collect for 
Aid. Permission is given for an anthem at this point. 
Some of the Clergy have inserted an anthem between the 
prayers, thus breaking the continuity of the service, much 
to the hurt of a worshipping people. We suppose by this 
rubric permission is given to have an anthem at this point 
when (according to the next rubric) the service is to end 
at this point. This is purely a matter of interpretation, 
and will be settled according to the taste of the Clergy- 
man in charge. We have heard the Clergyman say, " Let 
us pray," and then in the midst of the prayers, when the 
Church was leading our thoughts from our own wants to 
the needs of others, we have heard, midst the rustling noise 
of a rising congregation, some very beautiful voices sing- 
ing some very beautiful music, and then we have knelt 
down again with our thoughts distracted, feeling a solemn 
pity for the President, the Clergy, and all Conditions of 
Men if their welfare depended upon the kind of prayers 
our disturbed hearts were offering. We do not believe 
that this interpretation carries out the mind of the Church, 
and it is well for those who think as we do so to teach 
their children. When congregations are properly instruct- 
ed, the Clergy will respect their desires so far as render- 
ing the service is concerned. The next rubric permits a 
shortened service, but again this cannot mean that the 
regular Evening service is to be interfered with. Some- 

[78] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

times we are called upon to have more than two services 
on Sunday, and in this case the Clergyman is permitted 
to shorten the third service. We think this is the history 
of this rubric, and yet we fear that the rubric has been 
interpreted to the hurt of the regular Evening service. 
The remaining prayers are the same as in the Morning 
service. In this connection we would again call attention 
to the fact that the service of the Church does not consist 
of so many prayers, hymns and so much Scripture thrown 
together, any more than the human body consists of so 
many limbs and members indiscriminately attached to a 
trunk. There is a carefully appointed relationship be- 
tween the parts of the service. We enter the House of 
prayer as a family, and the greater portion of the service 
has respect to the worshippers then present. This division 
lasts through the Creed and the first prayers, and then we 
are taught to remember those who are not present. The 
relation of the several parts of the service to each other 
has been pointed out. 

Note, that we are gathered as a family, and hence the 
service is common. We say " we " and " our " until we 
reach the Creed. We may pray for each other and sing 
with each other, but each must believe for himself, and 
therefore the Creed begins " I believe." The other use 
of the singular pronoun is in the salutation of the con- 
gregation to the Clergyman, " and with Thy spirit." For 
next Sunday review this work; learn the Collect; the dif- 
ference between the Morning and the Evening services; 
learn four more numbers of the Contents. Watch your 
responses in the services to-day, and let your voices tell 
the earnestness of your hearts. Who missed the service 
last Sunday? 

[79] 



GRADE No. 3 



XVII 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYER (Continued) 

XJAVE we our Prayer-books and the Trinity Course? 
^ What is the first of the Table of Contents? The 
second? Give the rest through the eighth. (The teacher 
will see that the very words of the Contents are here given. 
This may be a little hard at first, but the children will 
reach the mark required by the teacher, and unless such 
portions of the Prayer-book as the Contents and the Di- 
visions of the services are committed accurately, there will 
be confusion of sound when the Eector conducts the gen- 
eral catechising. Imagine half of the school using the 
Prayer-book version of the second Commandment, and the 
other half the words of the Bible; you would have con- 
fusion in repeating the Commandments.) What is the 
first service in the Prayer-book ? Repeat the Divisions of 
the Morning Prayer as given on page 173 (Trinity 
Course). With what does the service begin? What are 
the purpose and value of the Sentences? Where does the 
Lord's Prayer come? Why should it be found in that 
place? Where does the Creed come, and why? From 
what portion of the Bible is the first Lesson taken ? And 
the second? In finding the Lessons for Sunday, what 
Table would you use? Suppose a Saint's day came on 

[80] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Sunday, what Lesson would be read? (I think your 
Eector would say, always give the preference to the Lord's 
day.) 

XV. What is the second service in the Prayer-book? 
In what respects does the Evening Prayer differ from 
Morning? (Page 173.) (Be sure that the answers here 
are accurate. After the list on page 173 (Trinity Course) 
has been repeated, let the class open the Prayer-book and 
point out each difference between the two services. ) What 
liberty is permitted regarding a shortened service ? When 
may this shortened service be used? Does this liberty 
permit an interference with the regular Evening service? 
Notice the second rubric after the Collect for Aid against 
perils. Why are the words, " Taken out of this book," 
used? Attention is again called to the care with which 
the Church has guarded against extemporaneous prayers. 
Where else are such prayers forbidden? (See the Eati- 
fication, and the third paragraph under " Concerning the 
Service of the Church.") 

XVI. What service follows Evening Prayer? When, 
according to the rubric, is the Litany to be used ? Com- 
pare this rubric with the first paragraph under " Concern- 
ing the Service of the Church." (In this latter place it 
is stated that the Litany is now a separate service, and 
may be used at any time as such.) The Litany is natu- 
rally divided into four parts. The first includes the four 
opening petitions — Invocations. The second includes the 
following six petitions — Deprecations. The third includes 
the next three petitions — Intercessions. The fourth in- 
cludes the remainder of the Litany — Supplications. An- 
other division of the Litany would be the Greater Litany; 

[81] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

this is from the opening to the words, " Christ, hear 
us ! '' — and the Lesser Litany ; this includes the rest of the 
service. Notice the rubric before the Lesser Litany. 
Usually the whole Litany is used on Ash- Wednesday, Good 
Friday, and during the week days of Lent. 

XVII. After the Litany, what next? Kead the rubric 
before the occasional Thanksgivings in connection with 
the one before the occasional Prayers. Should either 
prayers or thanksgivings be used in the morning or even- 
ing service, where would they properly come? If not 
here, where else? Let us review our work: Kepeat the 
first Title-page of the Prayer-book. Tell the difference 
between a Sacrament, a Eite, and a Ceremony. How 
much of the Prayer-book does the first Title-page include ? 
What is the value of the Certificate, and by what officer 
of the Church is it signed? With what must every edi- 
tion of the Prayer-book be compared? Why this care? 
Eepeat the Contents of the Prayer-book as far as you have 
learned them. (Insist on the words of the Table.) To 
what does the Eatification bind all Church members? 
What kind of prayers does this Eatification exclude from 
the service ? What do you mean by " Proper Psalms for 
Certain Days ? '' How often are portions of Psalms ap- 
pointed to be read, and how often are all of the Psalms 
read during the year? How else are the Psalms used in 
the service? How many Tables are there for Scripture 
reading? Tell the purpose for which each Table is ar- 
ranged. Let the teacher practise the class in the use of 
each table. What are Ember days, and when do they 
come ? Find among the " Prayers to be used upon several 
occasions " the prayers for Eogation days, and from these 

[82] 



THE BOOK OF COM M OK PRATER 

prayers tell for what purpose these da3^s are appointed. 
When do the Rogation daj^s come? What is the rule for 
finding Easter? For next Sunday learn the four next 
numbers of the Contents; the Divisions of the Penitential 
office (page 173) ; have the Divisions of the Morning 
Prayer accurate, and the difference between this and the 
Evening service; the Divisions of the Litany (page 173), 
and the rubric governing its use. Do not forget the Col- 
lect for the day. 

(If the children find any difficulty in keeping up with 
the work it will be because the Sunday-school lesson is put 
off to the last of the week. Encourage your children to 
do a little of this preparation each day, and when Sunday 
comes they will be ready for the class work. The children 
who attend the services will be the ones most interested 
in the study, for there they use what they have learned.) 
Who will be at the service to-day ? Watch your responses. 
Do not whisper your part. Do not mumble the service. 
Speak the responses in a voice as clear as that used by 
the Rector. When our congregations do this the service 
will have a new meaning. One drawling, dragging, sleepy 
service will do more to wear your Rector out than six days' 
hard work in the parish. One bright, hearty, wide-awake 
service will do more to increase the life of the congrega- 
tion than any other agency that can be employed. It is 
a simple thing. Let us try it. 



[83] 



GRADE No. 3 



XVIII 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYER (Continued) 

IIJAVE we all brought the Prayer-book and the Trinity 
Course? What Sunday is this? Repeat the Col- 
lect for the day. (The teacher will do well sometimes to 
ask this of each child separately, and sometimes of the 
whole class, but always require that the Collect be com- 
mitted at home with the rest of the lesson.) We have now 
learned twelve of the Table of Contents ; what is the first ? 
Give the rest in turn. (The teacher should begin at one 
end of the class and let each child answer in turn, and 
then begin at the other end, so as to give different numbers 
to each. Be sure that every child learns the Contents, 
and see that they answer in the words found in the Prayer- 
book. Accuracy will repay all the care you use at this 
point.) Give the divisions of Morning Prayer. (Here, 
too, let the teacher require the words as given in the Trin- 
ity Course, page 173. The value of this will be seen when 
the Eector gives his monthly catechising to the whole 
school. The children cannot answer together unless they 
have learned the same words, and this answering together 
is the thing that will tell to advantage in the responses of 
the Church.) How does the Evening Prayer differ from 
the Morning Prayer? At what point is it permitted to 

[84] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

shorten the evening service? To what conditions does 
this rubric apply? Suppose there are only two services 
on a given Sunday, does this rubric permit the cutting 
short of the regular Evening service? What service fol- 
lows? If used in Morning Prayer, where would the Lit- 
any come? What special days are mentioned in the 
rubric for the use of the Litany? May it be used at any 
other time, and how ? ( See " Concerning the Services of 
the Church.") Is the whole Litany always used, and if 
not, what portion is usually omitted? When is the whole 
of the Litany always used ? When " occasional prayers 
and thanksgivings " are used in Morning or Evening 
Prayer, where should each be said? Where do you find 
these directions? (See the rubrics.) 

(The teacher will do well to go over the headings of 
the occasional prayers and thanksgivings with the class, 
in order that the children may know for what special 
things the Church makes provision here.) 

XVIII. What follows in the Prayer-book? Give the 
Divisions of the penitential office (page 173, Trinity 
Course.) (This office was added to the Prayer-book at the 
time of its last revision, 1892. In it you will recognize 
much that was in the old service for Ash-Wednesday.) 
When shall this Office be used? When may it be used? 
With what does the office begin ? By whom is the Psalm 
to be said ? When the Psalter is read in the service, how 
is it read ? How should this Psalm in the penitential of- 
fice be said? (We would answer that the Minister and 
people should say it together. The third rubric seems to 
indicate this ; and besides it is a very solemn form of con- 
fession in which all of God's people should take part. If 

[85] 



THE teacher's C M P A N" I N 

it is broken up by antiphonal reading the penitential char- 
acter is marred, if not lost. We suggest, therefore, that 
you teach your children to say the Psalm in this service 
with the Minister.) There is another prayer in this office 
which we all say together; find it. (At this point the 
teacher will have the children open their Prayer-books and 
note what comes next. Let the children repeat the Days 
and Seasons of the Church Year which they learned in 
the Second Grade, and let it be pointed out again that 
between this and the Communion Service all the Collects, 
Epistles and Gospels for those Days and Seasons are 
found. We will skip these for the present. These will 
be associated with the Communion Service, of which they 
are a part, and they will be taken up as a special study in 
the last Grade of the Trinity Course. All that is needed 
here is to let the children see clearly in the Prayer-book 
where the Church Year is specially marked, and be made 
familiar with the location of these, so that they can turn 
at a moment to any one of the Collects. Teach the chil- 
dren what the word Collect means, and what the Church 
has done for us in the Collects for each Sunday and Holy 
Day; the meaning of the word Epistle, and from whence 
the Epistles usually come. There are exceptions; find 
them at your leisure and point them out. What the word 
Gospel means. This instruction may be put in the form 
of questions, the children being permitted to have their 
Prayer-books open to find their own answers, or the 
teacher may tell it to the children and question them af- 
terward.) For next Sunday learn the Divisions of the 
Communion Service (page 173) ; four more numbers of 
the Contents, and be ready with your review. Do not for- 

[86] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYER 

get the Collect for the day. We said something some time 
ago about the responses. See that you put into practice 
what we have learned, and remember that only those who 
attend the services can respond in the services. Who will 
be at Church to-day? 



[87] 



GRADE No. 3 



XIX 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER {Continued) 

W7 HAT Season of the Church Year are we in ? What 
Sunday is this? Repeat the Collect for the day. 
Repeat as a class the Contents from the Table. (The 
class has learned 16.) Give the Divisions of Morning 
Prayer. Give the differences between this service and 
Evening Prayer. Give the Divisions of the Litany. 
What follows? Give the divisions of the Penitential 
Office. (These Divisions will be found on page 173 of the 
Trinity Course, and should be learned in the words of the 
book. ) 

XIX. We have now reached the Communion service. 
What is the full title as given in the Table of Contents? 
Repeat the Divisions, page 173. (The teacher may find 
that some of the children, dreading the length of this ser- 
vice, have been careless in learning the Divisions. If so, 
this is a good place to stop and do some teaching. Go 
over and over the Divisions, taking them by twos and by 
threes, and varying the questions, first to the whole class, 
and then to the individuals. It is a good idea to divide 
the class in half, and let one half answer one question and 
the other half another. In this and other such ways the 
interest of the children will be aroused, and before you 

[88] 



THE BOOK OP COMMON PKAYER 

realize it^, all will have learned the Divisions. Do not ac- 
cept sloven work, and by all means do not lose your tem- 
per. It goes without saying that the teacher has learned 
the Divisions herself, and this will encourage the children, 
seeing that questions are asked without the book, and cor- 
rections are made from the teacher's memory. Associate 
the Divisions in the list with the different portions of the 
service itself.) What comes first in the Communion ser- 
vice? By whom should the Lord's Prayer here be said? 
Eecall the rubric before the Lord's Prayer in Morning 
Prayer. What shows that the same rubric applies here? 
(The fact that the rubric in the Morning Prayer includes 
ALL the services, of which this is one, and the fact that the 
rubric immediately before the Lord's Prayer in the Com- 
munion service refers to the Morning Prayer.) What 
follows the Collect for purity? Why do the Command- 
ments belong here? (We are to examine ourselves, and 
God's law is the only standard for such examination.) 
The summary of the law is added in the Master's words 
to show us that we are bound by the moral law given un- 
der the first Dispensation. What follows the Collect for 
guidance? In general terms, how many Collects, Epistles 
and Gospels has the Church given us? If each is a part 
of the Communion service, how often do you think the 
Church means that the Holy Communion is to be adminis- 
tered? (The teacher will be interested to find out the 
origin of the " monthly Communion," and it may be that 
a good deed will be done if you will get your Rector in- 
terested in the answer to the same question. A weekly 
Collect, Epistle, and Gospel means a weekly administra- 
tion of the Holy Communion.) What follows the Creed? 

[89] 



THE teacher's COMPANION: 

What does the rubric say shall be the character of the 
notices given in the Church? (There is a good deal in 
that question^ and a thoughtful teacher will make a good 
deal of the answer. You might talk this over with your 
Rector and not do a bad day's work. Let advertisements 
find their places in the daily newspapers, where they be- 
long, and where they should be paid for, and let us learn 
to hold sacred the chancel of the Church for things that 
are sacred.) What follows? (The fact that the sermon 
is specially mentioned in connection with the administra- 
tion of the two sacraments presents a thought for the 
thoughtful teacher. A word to your class on this subject 
will be in season, and if the word be judicious it will ad- 
vance your Rector's pulpit instruction.) What comes 
after the sermon? What is the difference between an 
Offering and a collection? 

Note, that the Offering is mentioned only in connection 
with the Holy Communion, and is often referred to as " our 
Alms and Oblations." The gifts of the people are thus 
associated in the service with God's great Gift to us, and 
form a part of our Prayers, — what, then, should be the 
character of our Offering, and what should determine the 
amount? Who shall receive the Offerings from the peo- 
ple? What are they required to do with them? To 
whom are they brought? What is the priest required to 
do with the Offerings ? What else is placed upon the Holy 
Table at the same time? (How careful should we be in 
our Offerings that are to be so associated.) What officer 
of the Church does the rubric say shall place the Offerings 
and the Bread and Wine on the Holy Table? Should, 
then, either be so placed by a lay reader or a deacon? 

[90] 



THE BOOK OF COMMOIS" PRAYER 

(Bead the rubric over and ponder the only answer that 
can be given to this question, if the directions of the 
Church are to guide us.) In some churches the people 
rise when the Clergyman " humbly presents and places the 
Offerings upon the Holy Table." Why is this done? 
(They are the gifts, the alms, and the Offerings of the 
congregation, and when the Clergyman gives them unto 
the Lord the people rise to join in the Offering as a part 
of their worship. In some churches the people do not take 
any part in this portion of worship. There is no explicit 
direction in the rubric for the posture of the congrega- 
tion; you will do well to teach your children what is the 
plain intention of the Church.) The rest of the service 
follows in regular order. Now, turn to the first rubrics 
of this service. Who are admitted to the Holy Commu- 
nion? Who may be repelled? What must a clergyman 
do when he repels any one ? Who is the Ordinary ? Does 
the Church exclude from the Communion persons belong- 
ing to any of the bodies of Christian people about us? 
(No. See the words of the invitation.) For next Sun- 
day review the Table of Contents as far as we have learned 
it. Learn the Divisions of the service for Public Baptism 
of Infants (page 174), and have the Divisions we have 
already learned at your fingers' end. Do not forget the 
Collect for the day. Who will be at Church to-day? 



[91] 



GRADE No. 3 



XX 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYEK (Continued) 

"V\7H0 has the Prayer-book and the Trinity Course? 
Eepeat the Collect for the day. Let the teacher 
review the class over the portion of the Prayer-book we 
have learned, covering specially the following points : The 
first Title-page ; the Contents down to " the order for the 
visitation of the sick"; the Tables for Lessons; how to 
find Easter; the Table of Fasts and other Fasting Days; 
Ember Days; Eogation Days; Division of the services 
through Holy Communion. Show where the portions of 
the service commonly called the Ante-Communion and 
Post-Communion begin and end. When may the Com- 
mandments be omitted? Where does the Creed come in 
the Communion Service? When must the Mcene Creed 
be said? Who receives the Alms from the wardens? 
What is he required to do with them? What else is he 
required to place upon the Holy Table at this time? 
(What would you think if a lay-reader or a deacon should 
step into the Chancel at this time and place the Bread and 
the Wine upon the Holy Table? Then, neither a lay- 
reader nor a deacon should place the Alms there. The 
Church has grouped these things and made the act a part 
of the priest's office.) Who are invited to the Holy Com- 

[93] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

munion? (See shorter invitation.) Does the Church 
exclude Christian people who have not been confirmed? 
(No. It is the Lord's Table, and the Church extends the 
Lord's invitation.) Should the priest add anything to 
the invitation which the Church places in his mouth? 
(Not one word. Extemporaneous invitations are as bad 
as extemporaneous prayers.) Turn to the last rubric of 
the confirmation service; does not that seem to exclude 
those who have not been confirmed? (The Church is here 
giving direction for the government and control of her 
own children, and that rubric applies to you and to me 
who have been raised in the Church. Xone of us is ad- 
mitted to the Holy Communion until the terms of this 
rubric are complied with. No reference is here had to the 
bodies of Christian people about us, and this is plainly 
so from the fact that this rubric was written before these 
bodies were born.) What are Proper Prefaces? What 
do they preface? For wliat Days are they provided? 
Why specially for those days? You may call the prayer 
immediately preceding the consecration " The Pra3^er of 
Humble Access," for this is what it is, and the name en- 
ables us to locate it. By whom is this prayer said, and 
specially for whom? (The teacher will do well to go over 
the prayer of consecration and explain what the Church 
requires the consecrating priest to do. He does most to 
destroy error who teaches the truth. The Church knows 
nothing of any other posture or act in the consecration 
than those which are laid down in the service. See that 
the children understand these, and they will not be misled 
by additions made to the service by individual conceit.) 
How does the Church direct that the Elements shall be 

[93] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

received? (Eead the rubric on this subject, and note the 
words : " Then shall the priest . . . proceed to de- 
liver the same ... in like manner ... to the 
people . . . into their hands, all devoutly kneeling." 
The words " into their hands " are strikingly placed in 
the rubric, and their meaning is plain enough. Never 
take the Bread in your fingers, as though you were pick- 
ing something up: — This is not what the Church says. 
Never put your lips up for the Cup to be placed to them : 
— ^this is not what the Church says. If you are going to 
be true to the Church, do exactly what she says. Place 
one hand in the other with the palms up, and when you 
have received the Bread " in your hands " raise it to your 
mouth. Take the Cup from the Clergyman carefully " in 
your hands," and when you return it do not turn it loose 
until the Clergyman has it. In this way you will be rev- 
erent and obedient to the Church, and at the same time 
you will avoid the possibility of accident.) If suflBcient 
provision of the Bread and Wine is not made, what direc- 
tion is given in the rubric ? Eead the next rubric. With 
what does the Communion service close? (Teach your 
children never to leave church until the Blessing has been 
said. Nothing could be more discourteous to an ordinary 
host than to partake of his bounty and then hastily leave 
his table and house, and this is to put the matter upon 
the lowest ground. We run the risk of being courteous 
everywhere save in the house of God.) Eead carefully 
the last rubric of the Communion Service. Words could 
not be formulated to give clearer direction : " If any of the 
Bread or Wine remain, it shall not he carried out of the 
churchy but the Minister and other communicants shall 

[94] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

immediately after the Messing, reverently eat and drink 
the same/' To pour the Wine back into a common vessel 
for future use and to throw the consecrated Bread away, 
or to reserve either element under any pretext whatsoever, 
is a clear disobedience to a clear law, and the act is one 
of disloyalty to the Church. (We do not think that those 
who so disobey are conscious of it, and therefore we say, 
teach your children the Booh of Common Prayer.) 

We have reached the close of the communion service, 
and we have also reached a marked division in the Book 
of Common Prayer. The first five services are plainly for 
the use of grown people. Morning and Evening Prayer, 
the Litany, the Penitential Office, and the Holy Com- 
munion are ordered for the use of those who have already 
reached years of discretion. This portion of the Prayer- 
book is distinctively Devotional. But the Prayer-book is 
a book of instruction as well as a book of worship, and we 
will now enter upon the Church's method of " bringing 
up a child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." 
The arrangement of the Prayer-book is rational. The 
Gospel was first preached to grown people. Witness the 
Day of Pentecost : " The promise is to you " first, " and 
to your children." The Church does not enter a mission 
field to-day and begin her work by baptizing little chil- 
dren. That would be to forget the " first commandment 
with promise." The Gospel is preached to-day to grown 
people first, and when they have accepted it they are taught 
the privilege of bringing their children with them. And 
hence the first part of the Prayer-book, including the first 
five services, is a book of Devotion arranged for grown 
people. Then the Church lays down her system of Edu- 

[95] 



THE TEACHER^S COMPANION 

cation, beginning with "the Ministration of Public Bap- 
tism of Infants." This latter portion of the Prayer-book 
is distinctively Educational. 

For next Sunday, learn four more of the Table of Con- 
tents; review all we have gone over, and be sure that you 
know the Division of the Baptismal service for Infants. 
Don't forget your Collect. Who will be at church to-day ? 



[96] 



GRADE No. 3 
XXI 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYER (Continued) 

pjAS any member of the class forgotten to bring the 
Prayer-book or the Trinity Course ? What Sun- 
day is this ? Repeat the Collect for the day. Repeat the 
Table of Contents down to " Forms of Prayer to be Used 
at Sea." Give the Division of Morning Prayer, the 
Litany, and the Penitential Office. In what respects does 
Evening Prayer differ from Morning? Give the Division 
of the Communion service. How often is Morning Prayer 
appointed to be said ? Why do we not have " daily " ser- 
vice now ? What permission is granted regarding " short- 
er service"? How may this liberty be abused? Where 
in the Prayer-book are the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels 
found? Of what special service do they form a part? 
How frequently should the Holy Communion be adminis- 
tered? How frequently should we take advantage of the 
privilege and receive the Holy Communion? For whose 
special benefit are the first five services of the Prayer-book 
intended? (Clearly they are Devotional services, and are 
intended to lead and direct the conscious and intelligent 
worship of grown people.) Does this fact exclude chil- 
dren from attendance upon and responding in these ser- 
vices? Show, from your own reasoning, why children 
should attend regularly upon these services. Can the ser- 

[97] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

vice of the Sunday-school take the place of the service 
appointed by Church? (Where this is done, you may be 
sure that the Sunday-school is a curse to the Church in- 
stead of a blessing; it makes no difference how well the 
lessons are learned. In the good old days father, mother, 
and children gathered as a family in the "house of 
prayer/^ and modern substitutes for this ancient custom 
have left no blessings behind. Pray God that we may re- 
turn to the old paths.) 

XX. What service follows the order for the Adminis- 
tration of the Holy Communion ? " The Ministration of 
Public Baptism of Infants*^ begins another Division of 
the Book of Common Prayer. This Division may be 
called the Educational or training portion of the Prayer- 
book, and it runs through the following ten services, 
counting the Church Catechism as one; that is, through 
the Burial of the Dead. From the cradle to the grave the 
Church leads the child through every phase of life, and 
in each makes provision for his instruction that we may 
learn to do our " duty in that state of life to which it has 
pleased God to call us." 

We would emphasize this thought, for it is just here, 
we dare believe, that the fatal error is being made to-day 
in our Church Sunday-schools. We have endeavored to 
bring up our children as Church children, forgetting that 
THE Church has not only bidden us " bring up a child 
in the way he should go," but has also provided a perfect 
and complete system of instruction. First entrance into 
the household of God by Holy Baptism; then a Catechism 
to be learned by every person before he be brought to be 
confirmed by the Bishop; then the Laying on of Hands 

[98] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYEE 

upon those who are baptized, and come to years of dis- 
cretion; and here the child, having been taught and 
trained in his duty to God and his fellow-man, is admitted 
to the Holy Communion. Having secured for the child 
a Christian character, the Church bids him go into the 
world and perform his duty to Caesar. The marriage ser- 
vice follows, and life's history continues through the order 
of Visitation of the Sick, the Communion of the Sick; 
and finally the closing chapter of life's record is said, and 
the Church lays her child to rest in the Burial of the dead. 
This is the Church's System of Instruction, and it is to 
call back the mind of our prophets and seers to this great 
fact that these papers are written. A glorious army of 
young recruits presents itself every year, and what are we 
doing with them? The Sunday-school is the nursery of 
the Church, and year by year the young crowd its walls. 
How are we training these young hearts and minds ? The 
literature of our Church Sunday-schools will answer the 
question. The Church has appointed her public worship 
and charged her ministry not to vary therefrom, but an- 
other service is used in the Sunday-school, gotten up by 
anybody who chooses to write devotional sentimentalism, 
and the consequence is the child leaves the Sunday-school 
and enters the Church as unfamiliar with the Church's 
order of service as though he had never heard of the 
Church. The Church has provided hymns to be sung in 
her public service, but in the Sunday-school another hooh 
of hymns is used, for which nobody is responsible, and the 
consequence is that the child leaves the Sunday-school and 
enters the' Church to find the words of song all new words 
and the tunes all strange to the ear. The Church has pro- 
LofC. [99] 



THE teacher's COMPANION" 

vided a text-book to be used for the education of her 
young, but our rectors, superintendents, and teachers have 
disregarded the Church's provision and replaced it with 
other text-boohs^ and again the child leaves the Sunday- 
school and enters the Church as totally ignorant of the 
contents, meaning, and use of the Book of Common Prayer 
as though that book had never descended to us as a blessed 
heritage. 

We speak not to criticise others and praise ourself, for 
we, too, have sinned. He who writes these words has in 
the past edited a book of service for the use of Sunday- 
schools, and compiled a book of Sunday-school hymns, — 
shame on him for it! For this we hope to be pardoned, 
because we did it in our ignorance. We now gravely plead 
the attention of the thoughtful to this matter, which is 
so important to the life of the Church. Take any Sun- 
day-school of our land ; examine the method of its control, 
the method of its instruction, the system it has adopted 
for the instruction of its children, the hymns that are 
sung, and the service that is said, and answer the question : 
How can an intelligent Churchmanship be hoped for as a 
result of its training ? Add to this the fact that the ser- 
vice of the Sunday-school is permitted to take the place 
of Morning Prayer as provided in the Book of Common 
Prayer, and the case becomes hopeless indeed. The weak- 
ness of the Church is where her strength should be, and 
as long as our fathers and brothers close their eyes to the 
fact that the Church has provided in the Prayer-book a 
system of instruction and fail to use that system, our ranks 
will remain thin, and the Churcl/'s adherents will remain 
weak. If it is a cry for revolution, let us sound it ; if it 

[100] 



THE BOOK OF COMMOK PKAYER 

means the tearing down of every landmark which modern 
method has erected, let us not stop until in every Sunday- 
school of the land, to the young and the old, to the rich 
and the poor, we teach " the truth as this Church hath 
received the same.'^ Begin where the Church begins — at 
the cradle — and teach the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and 
the Ten Commandments. Lead the little ones gently, 
lovingly, and tenderly from the Sunday-school to the pub- 
lic worship of the Church. Carry the teaching on until 
the Catechism has been learned. Never mind because the 
child cannot understand it all — many things we old chil- 
dren do not understand. Do what the Church says. Af- 
ter the Catechism, teach the Church Year, which is the 
history of our Lord's life. Then teach the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer until the child is familiar with its Contents 
and its use. Your child will now be prepared to study 
the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, as weekly appointed 
by the Church, and in the end you will have an educated 
Churchman. A child thus taught will be no stranger in 
the Father's " house of prayer," and such a child will 
know how to make his voice heard in the great volume of 
responsive worship and his influence felt in the active 
duties of life. When asked, " What mean ye by this ser- 
vice ? " a child so instructed will make answers that will 
astonish his elders. And best of all, your child, having 
been grounded in the rudiments of a Christian education 
as set forth by the Church, is now prepared intelligently 
to study God's Holy Word. You have the material for 
your Bible class. For next Sunday take a general review 
of your work, and in the mean time let the teachers medi- 
tate on what we have said. 

[101] 



GRADE No. 3 



XXII 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYER (Continued) 

CEE that each child has brought the Prayer-book and 
the Trinity Course. Repeat the Collect for the day. 
Let the teacher question the class closely on the re- 
view. Do not depend upon the questions here asked, but 
formulate questions from your own mind. Use these 
questions only as suggestions. The point is to see that 
your children have an accurate knowledge of the ground 
covered, and to this end multiply your questions imtil you 
have brought out every phase of the study. The teacher 
will in this way grow with the class. 

We have now reached the Ministration of Public Bap- 
tism of Infants. Repeat the Division of the service (page 
174). Notice the words with which the title closes, "To 
be used in Church.'^ Three rubrics are placed ahead of 
this service; give the direction contained in each. The 
service opens with the question, " Hath this child been 
already baptized, or no," and to this question one of three 
answers may be given. (1) If the sponsors answer 
"yes," the service cannot continue. Under no condition 
does the Church permit rehaptism. Baptism is our birth 
into the Church, and as we cannot be born but once, so 
we cannot be baptized but once. (2) If the sponsors are 

[102] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

in doubt, and cannot answer positively, the service con- 
tinues, save with the use of the hypothetical form of words 
in the act of baptism, found on page 257 of the Prayer- 
book. (3) If the sponsors answer "no/' the service is 
had in the form here given. The first part of the service, 
down to the words " dearly beloved," is for the congre- 
gation gathered. 

Note, that the closing prayer of this portion of the ser- 
vice is to be said hy all who are present. 

When this is over, the minister addresses those who 
have brought the child, setting forth the fact that while 
baptism is a Divine Institution, it is also a Covenant in 
which God agrees to do certain things, and in which we, 
too, have our part. Four questions are asked. The first 
has to do with things which we promise not to do, and the 
last three with things which we promise to do. We are 
reminded of the moral law as contained in the Ten Com- 
mandments, " Thou shalt " and " Thou shalt not." From 
the very start the Church teaches the two sides that must 
enter every life, the positive and the negative, and the 
balance of questions is striking ; we cannot afford to spend 
our lives in " not doing." For every one thing that we 
should not do, there are three that we should do. " Walk 
in the spirit, and ye will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh " 
is engraved on the forefront of the Church's training. 
Then follow in the service four special petitions for the 
child, and the prayer of consecration of the water. Notice 
that the minister takes the child in his arms, as though 
the Church would claim by this act the child as her very 
own, and returns him to his natural mother, as did the 
daughter of Pharaoh the child Moses, with the injunction, 

[103] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

" Take care of this child for me." The baptismal service 
is a standing one until after the act of baptism has been 
performed. This is one of the exceptions to which we 
made reference in regard to our ordinary posture while 
engaging in prayer. We generally kneel, unless there is 
a special reason why we should not. In the case of Bap- 
tism, the congregation are present as witnesses, and in 
order that they may at any time testify to the fact that 
this child was baptized, they stand that they may see. 
Notice that the child receives a name at his baptism, and 
that name is the sign of a new relationship in God's 
family. Henceforth may the child say " Our Father," 
for he is now made "a member of Christ, the child of 
God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." The 
service closes with two addresses to the sponsors, and both 
are striking. The second address admonishes the sponsor 
that the duties assumed do not cease until the child has 
been brought to the Bishop to be confirmed. In regard to 
the first address, note the following: (1) The Church 
holds the sponsors answerable for the proper instruction 
of the child. Eesponsibility does not cease with the act 
of baptism any more than in the act of physical birth. A 
new and a greater care is now demanded, because the child 
has been baptized. Ours is a teaching Church, and there- 
fore her chief interest is to impress upon the sponsors the 
fact that " it is your parts and duties to see that this in- 
fant be taught." (2) The Church uses the same care in 
determining the character of teaching she deems neces- 
sary for the well-being of the child. Note, that the 
Church has nothing to say as to the capacity of the 
teacher; for this she wisely relies on the heart-interest of 

[104] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYER 

the sponsor in the child. The best teacher is not the one 
who knows most^ but who loves most. The point of the 
Church's interest here is in the things that are to be 
taught, and she names them: the Creed, the Lord's 
Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. Not " who was the 
first man, and who built the ark, and how many doves did 
Noah send forth," but the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and 
the Ten Commandments, and these the Church afterwards 
expands into her Catechism for the further instruction of 
the child. The Church continues her word of comfort 
and encouragement by assuring us that in this way the 
child shall " be virtuously brought up to lead a godly and 
a Christian life." (3) Note, again, the emphasis that is 
laid upon the sermon. The more we study the method 
the Church has laid down for the training of her children, 
the more plain is the fact that modern methods have de- 
parted therefrom. If we would make a success of our 
Sunday-school work, we must return to the Church's ways. 
We must secure teachers not only because they are intel- 
lectually fitted to teach, but chiefly because their hearts 
are in the work, and because their interest in the children 
and love for the Church constrain them to become guides 
for the young. The intellect can be trained if the heart 
is right in the sight of God. And again, we must be rid 
of the systems of Church instruction, falsely so-called, 
and follow the method and the system the Church has 
given us. We must see that the Sunday-school service is 
not permitted to take the place of Morning Prayer, and 
lastly, we must never forget that the Church has taken 
care to emphasize the sermon in both of her sacraments, 
giving special direction in this regard for the child's sake. 

[105] 



THE TEACHER'S COMPANION 

If we are willing to do these things, our Sunday-schools 
will become Church schools, and our little children will 
grow up as polished corners of the temple. Take for next 
Sunday the remaining baptismal services. Do not forget 
the Collect and the review. Who will be at the service 
to-day ? 



[106] 



GRADE No. 3 
XXIII 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Continued) 

A SK about the Prayer-book and the Trinity Course. 
'^ The class should now know the Table of Contents. 
Be sure that this is repeated in the words of the Table. 
Question carefully over the early pages regarding Feast 
and Fast days, Ember and Rogation days, seeing that the 
children understand their meaning and know when they 
come. Repeat the Division of the services to the one we 
have reached (page 173). If the teacher finds that there 
is indefiniteness in the answer of any child, stop, and cor- 
rect it. A little pains taken in this will brace the child's 
mind to pointed accuracy. Things well learned are rarely 
forgotten. Eels slip through our fingers because we do 
not get hold of them; jewels and precious thoughts will 
do the same thing if we let them. Secure accuracy. 

What days are specially mentioned for the public Bap- 
tism of Infants? Should not this also apply to adults? 
What direction is given in regard to God-parents? At 
what point in Morning or Evening service should the Sac- 
rament be administered? With what question does the 
Baptismal service begin? Why is this question asked? 
What is the posture of the congregation during the ser- 
vice? Why? At what point should we kneel? Point 

[ 107 ] 



THE teacher's COMPANION" 

out the prayer which we all say together. In what respect 
is Baptism a covenant? By whom is Baptism ordinarily 
administered? May a Deacon administer Baptism? Un- 
der what conditions is he forbidden? (Look in the ordi- 
nation service.) Under what circumstances should a lay- 
man administer baptism? What is such baptism called? 
Under such circumstances is the person or child rebap- 
tized? In Infant Baptism^ who answers for the child? 
What does the word sponsor mean? Why are sponsors 
required ? How many questions are asked in the service ? 
Can you recall these same questions and answers in an- 
other form in the Catechism ? Have we a right to decline 
to be sponsor because of the duty involved or the respon- 
sibility assumed? What does the Church say is the duty 
of the sponsor to the child? What are they to teach? 
Suppose we are so situated that we cannot teach the child, 
what becomes of our obligation? (We are never so situ- 
ated that we cannot remember the child in our prayers, 
and on our knees ask God's oversight and blessing.) 
When does the responsibility of the sponsor cease ? Where 
should the service for Public Baptism always be said ? 

XXI. What service follows in the Prayer-book? 
(There is no special emphasis to be laid on the word 
"private." This service corresponds with the Commu- 
nion of the sick, and is private only as used in a home 
dwelling instead of the Church. No service of the Church 
is private in the sense of secret.) In what does the pri- 
vate baptismal service consist? Where may this service 
be performed? (Note that the Church forbids having 
the whole service in private.) The first Eubric of the 
private service is important as showing the contrast be- 

[108] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

tween the mind of the Church and all modern methods 
of thought. So important is Christian Baptism that the 
Church would have the Sacrament administered even in 
the absence of the mother. The second Kubric must de- 
termine the answer of the minister when requests are 
made for "home baptisms." Except for "great cause 
and necessity/' we are forbidden to baptize a child at 
home, and when such cause exists, we must use only the 
service the Church provides in the third Eubric. 

XXII. Should a child who has been baptized in private 
recover, what shall be done? This we may call the Ke- 
ceiving Service. It is the baptismal service complete, save 
that the child's former baptism is certified to, and he is 
received into the congregation. 

XXIII. Note the paragraph on top of page 257 of the 
Prayer-book. This marks another service, complete in 
itself, and differing from the public Baptism only in the 
form of words used in the act of baptism. This service 
is to avoid the possibility of rebaptism. 

XXIV. What service follows in the Prayer-book? 
" The Ministration of Baptism to such as are of Eiper 
Years " is a late addition to the Prayer-book. Its date, 
1662, points to the reign of Charles II. The teacher will 
be interested to look up the causes that led to the intro- 
duction of this service. In that search you will find one 
of the strongest proofs that Infant Baptism was from the 
earliest times, and that Adult Baptism was a very late 
necessity. The baptismal service for Adults differs from 
that of Infant baptism only in such respects as are neces- 
sitated by the difference of age. For Infant baptism no 
preparation is required, and the sponsors answer for the 

[109] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

child. The grown person must be instructed, and in the 
service answers for himself. The lesson from the Script- 
ure is different, and some slight changes are made in the 
prayers. The first Kubric closing this service points out 
the duty of the newly baptized person to seek Confirma- 
tion. The second Rubric provides for Adult Baptism at 
home, and, in this case, permits the use of the whole ser- 
vice in private. The third Rubric provides a combined 
service, and the fourth gives direction for those who have 
passed infancy, and yet are not old enough to answer for 
themselves. The last Rubric authorizes the use of the 
hjrpothetical form. 

XXV. This brings us to the Church Catechism, with 
which we should be familiar. The Rubrics closing this 
instruction are pointed. The first declares in clear terms 
the duty of every minister to be to catechise the children 
in public. This is not made a matter of preference. The 
Rubric says, "The minister shall.'' We venture the 
statement that the minister who is accustomed to publicly 
catechise his children will attest the Church's wisdom, and 
the one who has let slip the duty will acknowledge its 
benefit after a few months' trial. The second Rubric 
points out the duty of parents in this respect. The third 
Rubric applies to the young, and repeats the required 
preparation for Confirmation. The last Rubric is a di- 
rection to the Clergy. For next time learn the Division 
of the Confirmation service, the Collect for the day, and 
be careful about your review. Who will be at church to- 
day? 



[110] 



GRADE No. 3 
XXIV 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Continued) 

lUTAVE all brought the Prayer-book and the Trinity 
Course? Repeat the Collect for the Day. Repeat 
the Table of Contents. How many Tables for finding the 
Lessons has the Church given us? For what purpose is 
each Table arranged? Name the Ember and Rogation 
days, and tell the purpose for which they are appointed. 
What are fixed, and what are movable Feasts? Give an 
example of each. What is the rule for finding Easter? 
When does Advent Sunday come? Is Christmas ever a 
Fast day? Every Friday is set aside for fasting; sup- 
pose Christmas should fall on Friday, would it then be a 
Fast day? Give the Division of the services as far as we 
have learned them (page 173). What portions of the 
Scripture are appointed to be read at Morning and Even- 
ing Prayer? When may the Litany be used as a separate 
service? When is the Penitential office to be said? Are 
portions of the Old Testament ever appointed to be used 
for the Epistle ? Name a day on which this is done. If 
daily service were said, how often would the Book of 
Psalms be read in the Church during the year? How 
often has the Church provided for the administration of 
the Holy Communion? What is the first thing in the 
Communion Service ? By whom should the Lord^s Prayer 

[1111 



THE teacher's COMPANION- 

be said here? When may the Commandmeiits be omit- 
ted ? What is the outward part or sign in the Lord^s Sup- 
per ? How should the Bread and the Wine be received by 
the communicant? Where do you find this instruction? 
How many services for Baptism are in the Prayer-book? 
Name them. When may Lay Baptism be administered? 
Suppose one is in doubt as to whether or riot he has been 
baptized, what provision has the Church made ? What is 
the difference between a sponsor and a witness? 

Give the general divisions of the Church Catechism. 

XXVI. What service follows the Catechism? To 
what two services is Confirmation specially related? 
What is the Scriptural name for Confirmation? Why 
are two names given to this service? What is the sig- 
nificance of each name? What preparation does the 
Church require for Confirmation? Should children be 
confirmed simply because they can say these things? 
(See the final instruction to sponsors in Public Baptism 
of Infants.) What is the proper posture of the congre- 
gation during the first part of the Confirmation Service? 
When should the people kneel? Why do they stand dur- 
ing the first part? To whom is the Bishop^s question ad- 
dressed? Why does the class not answer, we do? Do 
you remember any other place in which the singular pro- 
noun is used in common worship? The prayer immedi- 
ately before the act of Confirmation is quoted almost word 
for word from the Old Testament. Find the reference. 
(Ask your rector.) Two Eubrics are placed at the close 
of the service. The first declares the duty of the lately 
confirmed person, and the second we have already shown 
applies to the children of the Church, and has no bearing 

[112] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYER 

upon those who worship God under the various names to 
which we are accustomed. Should one who has not been 
confirmed, but who belongs to any of the religious bodies, 
come to the Holy Communion? (The Church adminis- 
ters the Sacrament, and wisely leaves the responsibility 
where it belongs.) The duty which we who have been 
confirmed owe to the Church is plain. 

XXVII. What service follows Confirmation? Not of 
least importance is the position of this service in the 
Prayer-book. Most of the saddest experiences of life re- 
sult from its displacement. The Church says, do your 
duty to God first, and this will fit you to do your duty to 
your fellow-man. Kneel first to receive the Church's 
blessing in Confirmation and enroll your name as a com- 
municant of the Church, and after that enter upon your 
duties to the world and to society. In the mind of the 
Church, Confirmation comes first, and then the Marriage 
service. The children of the Church will do well to con- 
sider this. Some have reversed the order of these two ser- 
vices, and the experiment has generally resulted in the 
postponement of Confirmation, and often in its total 
neglect. The first Eubric of the Marriage service recog- 
nizes the authority of the State in the license. The pub- 
lishing of the banns is not ordered by the Church, and as 
a custom, is not followed in this country. Note that the 
marriage vows are twice said, and yet are they not re- 
peated. The first time they are made by the man and the 
woman to the Church as represented by the Minister. 
Then they are made to each other. This fact suggests the 
proper posture of the parties to be married. They should 
first face the minister, and then they should face each 

[113] 



THE teacher's COMPANIOK 

other. The parent or guardian should stand between the 
couple until the answer has been made to the question, 
" Who giveth this woman to be married to this man ? '' 
The taking of hands and the releasing and taking of hands 
again is the expression of willingness on the part of each. 
Note that the ring is given to the woman, who gives it 
to the Minister, and he in turn gives it to the man, to be 
placed on the woman's hand. Thus the ring passes 
through the Church, impressing upon the very symbol of 
the union that marriage is not merely a civil contract, and 
therefore should trouble afterward arise, the Church's 
voice must be heard. We think there is no record left of 
the first use of the ring as signifying the marriage union. 
It is a most beautiful symbol, and very appropriate: (1) 
The ring is placed upon the woman's finger, signifying 
that she has entered into a covenant; (2) the ring is end- 
less, signifying the character of that covenant, " till death 
us do part "; (3) the ring is of pure gold, symbolic of the 
relationship that is established. During the marriage ser- 
vice the whole congregation should stand, for they are 
present as witnesses. At the blessing the couple only 
should kneel, for the blessing is specially upon them. For 
next Sunday learn the division of the order for the visita- 
tion of the sick (page 175), the Collect for the day, and 
do not forget the review. Who will be at Church this 
morning ? 



[114] 



GRADE No. 3 



XXV 

THE BOOK OF COMMON" PRAYER (Continued) 

"LJAS each pupil the Prayer-book and the Trinity 
Course? (Let the teacher bear in mind that we 
have three very important motives for insisting on this: 
(1) These two books should be in the hand of each child 
for ready reference. The child's interest is lessened when 
he must depend upon another's book, or depend upon an- 
other to find a reference for him. (2) The books will be 
the longer preserved if they are regularly looked after. 
(3) We are trying to recall the habit of taking the Prayer- 
book with us to the public services of the Church. One 
cause of the decrease in the responses in the services is the 
fact that so many of us depend upon finding Prayer-books 
in the pews instead of carrying our books with us. Let 
the Sunday-school be the place for the correction of this, 
and it can only be done by insisting that the books we 
study shall be brought to the school each Sunday.) Re- 
peat the Collect for the day. Let the pupils answer in 
turn the following: The Table of Contents, the Division 
of the services through marriage (page 173). What is 
the general character and the particular purpose of the 
first five services? (Devotional^ and for the use of 
adults.) Can this mean that our children are to be ex- 
cluded? Why is it specially important that our children 

[115] 



THE teacher's COMPANION" 

should attend upon these services? (1) From the stand- 
point of the child; (2) from the stand-point of the fam- 
ily; (3) from the stand-point of the Church. What gen- 
eral division of the Prayer-book follows the Devotional? 
(The Educational.) What services are included in the 
Church's system of education? (The attention of the 
teacher need not be called to the fact that these general 
divisions are not exclusive of each other. All of the ser- 
vices are in a sense devotional, and all in a like sense edu- 
cational, and yet the general divisions noted are marked 
and should be clearly impressed upon the mind of the 
child. They assist in making the contents and rationale 
of the Prayer-book more plain.) Where is the marriage 
service placed in the Prayer-book? What is the signifi- 
cance of this position ? Why is a license required ? What 
is the difference between a license and a marriage certifi- 
cate ? To whom is the opening sentence addressed ? How 
many must be present when the marriage service is said ? 
To whom are the vows first made? What does the Min- 
ister represent? When said again, to whom are the vows 
addressed? (There is no Eubric determining the position 
of the father or friend, but from the character of the ques- 
tion, it would seem that he should stand with the couple 
and between them, until this question has been answered 
by placing the hand of the bride in that of the Minister.) 
XXVIII. What service follows the solemnization of 
Matrimony? The Eubric is very important. (More sad- 
ness has been entailed on the Clergy by a neglect of this 
direction on the part of the people than through any other 
cause. The Eector is usually left to find out in some un- 
known and undefined way that sickness exists, and by a 

[116] 



THE BOOK OP COMMON PRAYER 

like undefined process he is expected to guess tlie hour 
convenient for his call. In most cases he does not find 
out the fact until somebody is hurt by his supposed 
neglect.) The Eubric is clear. "When any one is sick 
notice should be given thereof to the minister," and that 
notice should come from the family. (The teacher should 
impress this upon the mind of the child. Furthermore, 
there is nothing in the sick service to suggest the fact that 
notice to the minister should be delayed until the doctor 
has given the patient up for dead. The service is a long 
one, as services go, and suggests that the mind should be 
clear and the body not wasted by prolonged sickness. This 
Eubric is best carried out when notice is sent to the Min- 
ister as soon as a member is too sick to attend the public 
services in the church. We would further remark, for the 
benefit of the older members of the flock, that while no 
service is more generally neglected than the Visitation of 
the Sick, few services are more full of comfort and none 
show more clearly the wisdom of the Church. There is 
little in this service that requires explanation. The 
teacher should go over the service carefully with the class, 
and see that each child has a clear idea of it. Special 
attention is called to the fact that nothing in this service 
is even suggestive of private or compulsory confession. 
The first responses are all in the plural " our," " us," and 
in the short petitions that follow we seem to hear the 
voices of the family and friends — not who putteth " my " 
trust in Thee, etc. Note, again, the character of the ex- 
amination. It takes us back to the public exhortation in 
the public Communion Ofiice, save that making a Will is 
mentioned and a right distribution of earthly property is 

[117] 



THE teacher's C O M P A N I 1^ 

suggested. The final blessing is one of the most strikingly 
beautiful in the Prayer-book. Another quotation from 
the Old Testament. (Find it there.) 

XXIX. What service follows the Visitation of the Sick ? 
Let the teacher read over with the class the Eubric before 
the Communion for the Sick. It contains four special 
parts: (1) The duty of regularly receiving the Holy Com- 
munion; (2) provision for its reception in our homes; 
(3) that a notice of such a desire shall be sent to the 
Eector; (4) the least number to be present;, with excep- 
tion. The Eubric sets forth the shorter form^ if weak- 
ness requires. We again emphasize the fact that there is 
nothing in this Office to suggest a private confession. 
Even at the point of death, the service (as much as may 
be had) is the same public service that is said in the 
Church building. The mind of the Church seems to re- 
volt from the possibility of a private (in the sense of 
secret) service, and to prevent such a possibility, the 
Church orders that (except in contagious diseases) at 
least two besides the sick person shall be present. The 
General Confession that is used in the public service of 
the Church must be used here, and the form of Absolu- 
tion is the same as in the public administration of the 
Holy Communion. For next Sunday be ready with your 
review. Learn the Division of the Burial Service (page 
176). Do not forget your Collect. Who will be at the 
service to-day? 



[118] 



GRADE No. 3 
XXVI 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Continued) 

OEE that each child has brought the Trinity Course and 
the Book of Common Prayer. Be careful about the 
review. (Our purpose here is only to suggest. The 
teacher will vary the review so as to cover all that has been 
learned and keep the matter fresh in the mind of the pupil. 
Use our suggestions only as guides to the teacher's own 
questions, which, by this time, will be better than ours.) 
Repeat the Collect for the day. Repeat the Table of Con- 
tents. How many Tables are there for finding the Les- 
sons? What is the special use of each? Let the class 
find the Lessons for days in each Table so as to secure 
familiarity with the Tables. Repeat the Divisions of the 
services through the Communion of the sick (page 173). 
What notice does the Church require shall be sent to the 
ClergATuan in case of sickness? From whom should this 
notice come, and why not from some outside person? 
When the Communion of the sick is desired, what does the 
Church require? How many must be present when this 
service is administered? Under what conditions is the 
priest allowed to administer Communion when no one is 
present save the sick person? Why does the Church re- 
quire that " two at the least " shall be present ? Show 
that, while the Visitation of the sick and Communion of 

[119] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

the sick are services to be said in private, still nothing in 
either service is suggestive of a private confession or a 
private absolution. Let the Book of Common Prayer in- 
terpret the teaching of the Church and little room will 
be left for error. 

XXX. What service follows the Communion of the 
sick? The teacher should go over this service carefully 
with the class. Very little explanation is needed here. 
We have avoided interpreting the Rubrics, and we offer 
no interpretation here save to call attention to the general 
mind of the Church. Read over the first Rubric. The 
Clergy are not detectives, and hence it is not their duty, 
when sent for to bury the dead, to search into causes of 
death, or into the former relation of the dead to the 
Church. If it is known that the law of the Church has 
been transgressed, the Clergy must act accordingly. A 
man may die unbaptized for a number of reasons: (1) He 
may never have heard of Christian Baptism — there are 
such in this Christian land. (2) He may have heard and 
may be desirous of being baptized, but is prevented from 
taking the step by one or more of the false tests of fitness 
suggested by modern teachers. He may not have felt 
" good enough " or " worthy " of the Sacrament. I have 
met such cases. (3) He may have enjoyed the privileges 
of Church instruction and deliberately turned his back 
on the teaching, refusing to be baptized. The Church 
could not have had either of the first two in mind when 
this Rubric was written, and should the third case rise 
the Minister is apt to be in possession of the facts. In 
regard to those who die excommunicate the same must be 
said. Not the fact that, because of an openly godless life, 

[120] 



THE BOOK OF COMMOK PRAYER 

the Holy Communion has in the past been refused, but 
there must be wilful persistency in such a life even unto 
death. Again, regarding one who has laid violent hands 
upon himself, the mere fact of self-destruction is not suf- 
ficient, for many a man has taken his own life when he 
knew not what he did. The coroner's jury generally 
states the mental condition, and on this we may act. It 
must be remembered that the Order for the Burial of the 
Dead is a service said for the consolation of the living, 
and hence is not to be withheld, save where the person has 
consciously and wilfully said, by word or act, " This ser- 
vice must not be read over me." Under these conditions 
the Church respects in death what has been asked for in 
life. The second Eubric calls attention to the fact that 
the Burial Service is to be said in Church, and not in our 
private homes. 

XXXI. The order of the Burial of the Dead at Sea 
follows. The changes in the service are so slight as to 
require no remark. Let the children point them out. 

This service closes the second general division in the 
Prayer-book, to which attention has been called. First, 
the Devotional. This division includes the first five ser- 
vices. Second, the Educational. This begins with the 
Public Baptism of Infants, and goes through the Burial 
of the Dead. The line is clearly drawn, and yet it is not 
an exclusive line. It must not be understood that the 
devotional services do not teach, or that the educational 
services do not lead us to worship. The line of division 
is inclusive rather than exclusive. The teacher will do 
well to see that the class has a clear idea of the construc- 
tion of the Prayer-book here emphasized. The next gen- 

[121] 



THE TEACHERS COMPANION" 

eral division of the Prayer-book we may call the Occa- 
sional services. This division includes all those services 
which are sometimes held, but for which, because of cir- 
cumstances, definite times cannot be appointed. You may 
count the services beginning with the Churching of 
Women and ending with a Form of Prayer and Thanks- 
giving. 

XXXII. What service follows the Burial of the Dead? 
The teacher should read the service for the Churching of 
Women over carefully with the class. The Rubrics are 
clear, and there is nothing about the service that requires 
explanation. We would remark to our grown people that 
no service of the Prayer-book should be more carefully 
observed than this. We are too apt to lose sight of the 
fact that our children are " an heritage that cometh of 
the Lord," and that the heritage entails a tremendous 
responsibility. If we could realize the responsibility 
more in the infancy of our children we would be more 
careful of their youthful Christian training. To this end 
we would say that no service in the Prayer-book should 
be more carefully observed than the Churching of Women. 
Learn the Divisions of the service for the Churching of 
Women for next Sunday. Do not forget the Collect for 
the day. Remember the responses in the public worship. 
Who will be at the service to-day? 



[122] 



GRADE No. 3 

XXVII 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Continued) 

\\7^0 has forgotten the Trinity Course and the Prayer- 
book? Repeat the Collect for the day. In what 
portion of the Prayer-book are the Gospels, Epistles and 
Collects found? Of what service are they a part? How 
frequently, from this fact, would you say the Church 
means the Holy Communion shall be administered ? What 
is the origin of the monthly administration ? Where does 
the Confirmation Service come? To what services is it 
specially related? Trace the relationship. What are the 
Divisions of the Church Catechism? The Church is called 
God's family ; He is our Father and we are His children : 
trace the analogy between the duties we owe in our earthly 
families as children and the duties we owe in the Church 
as children. Give the Divisions of the Service for the 
Public Baptism of Infants. What is the significance of 
the Clergyman's taking the child in his arms? In what 
respects does the Private Communion differ from the pub- 
lic service? What other services may be held in the pri- 
vate homes? How does Burial at Sea differ from the 
usual Burial Service ? The Burial Service is intended for 
the consolation of the living. Under what conditions does 
the Church forbid the use of this particular service? 
Where is the Burial Service ordered to be said ? May any 

[123] 



THE TEACHER^S COMPANION" 

service be said in the Church save those which are in the 
Prayer-book, or such as have the authority of the Bishop ? 
(See the Eatification.) If any other Burial Service must 
be said, where should the funeral be had? When, then, 
you see a funeral service conducted in a private residence, 
what have you a right to conclude ? Name the " Devo- 
tional '^ services of the Prayer-book. Name the " Educa- 
tional'^ services. When does the Church assume her re- 
sponsibility over her children? (At the cradle.) When 
does the Church yield that responsibility ? (At the grave.) 
Name the " Occasional " services. Give the Divisions of 
the service for the Churching of Women. Where should 
this service be held? 

XXXIII. What service follows the Churching of Wom- 
en ? The First Eubric in Forms of Prayer to be Used at 
Sea is suggestive. The Church seems to say that we are 
not mere creatures of circumstance, fashioned in habit and 
character by environment; but that, under all conditions 
and midst all surroundings, we are the household of God 
and children of a common Father. Hence the same ser- 
vice that is appointed to be said in the large gathering of 
a cathedral congregation is appointed for the upper cham- 
ber; and the service ordered for the mountain cove is the 
service to be said at sea. (It need not be said that here, 
as elsewhere, it is taken for granted that the people present 
have some knowledge of the Church's service, and that 
there shall be Prayer-books for the congregation.) The 
next two Eubrics direct the use of special prayers. The 
Eubric immediately before the Confession sets forth the 
Church's idea of a Christian life and character. Not only 
they who minister at the altar ; not only they who worship 

[124] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

in the pews render acceptable service to God. Duty per- 
formed in every walk of life is duty rendered to God. 
The man at the wheel; the man who lifts the sail; the 
engineer at the throttle; the man blackened with dust in 
the coal bin — all these are members of the congregation of 
worshippers, and only those who, in imminent danger, can 
be " spared from necessary labor '^ can serve acceptably 
upon the knee in worship. The service at sea closes with 
appropriate forms for " Thanksgiving after Storm " and 
" Thanksgiving after Victory." 

XXXIV. What service follows the Forms to be Used at 
Sea? In the Form of Prayer for Visitation of Prisoners 
note in the first Rubric that the Church appoints the same 
service for Morning and Evening Prayer for her children 
everywhere; still claiming even those who have been pris- 
oned for crime. Nevertheless, provision is made for ap- 
propriate alterations in the service, as the conditions de- 
mand. Note in the second Rubric the Churches clinging 
care and solicitude for the outcast in solitary confinement. 
The Rubric immediately before the Creed in this service 
should strike the thoughtful mind. The same form of 
examination is here ordered in the prison as at the sick 
bedside of the most saintly. The Rubric that follows is as 
suggestive : The Preparation for Receiving the Holy Com- 
munion in Prison (for even in prison does the Church 
make provision for the administration of the Lord's Sup- 
per) is the same as that set forth in a cathedral service. 
Here more pointedly than elsewhere the Church teaches 
that we have all sinned, and that the distinction of " more 
or less" does not spare from condemnation in the courts 
of heaven. We have all need of the same confession of 

[125] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

faith and the same acknowledgment of wrong doing, 
whether we be in man's prison house or out of it. 

XXXV. Following the Visitation of Prisoners is a 
Form of Prayer for Persons Under the Sentence of Death. 
Again the Church enters the chamber of death, approach- 
ing the criminal under the law as she approaches the silent 
chamber of her most consistent child; offering the same 
form of Faith to the one as to the other, and declaring that 
both alike have need of repentance. Note again, that the 
form of Absolution used with the person appointed to die 
for crime against the law of the State is the same as that 
appointed to be used when the Holy Communion is admin- 
istered in Church. We have all sinned,, and the blood of 
Jesus Christ, that cleanses in the prison walls, alone can 
give peace to the most saintly. The closing sentence of 
this service is even more striking. The form of words with 
which the Church blesses the sick bed of her most con- 
sistent member is the form with which she blesses the de- 
parting soul of one who dies on the gallows. This should 
increase our sympathy for the condemned, and suggest for 
our meditation the words of St. Paul, " Who maketh thee 
to differ from another ? and what hast thou that thou didst 
not receive?" Note again, that the Church provides for 
the administration of the Holy Communion even in the 
cell of the condemned, and then turns her eyes away from 
the past with the statement, " It is best that the criminal 
should not make any public profession or declaration." 

For next Sunday do not forget the Collect for the day. 
Learn the Divisions of the Forms to be Used at Sea ; and 
the Visitation of Prisoners. How many of the class will 
be at the service to-day? Watch your responses and see 
that they are hearty. 

[126] 



GRADE No. 3 
XXVIII 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYER {Continued) 

T_TAVE all the Trinity Course and the Prayer-book. 
Eepeat the Collect for the day. Repeat the Table 
of Contents. How many title-pages do you find in the 
Prayer-book? Turn to them. There are, then, three 
books bound up in the Prayer-book, one following each 
title-page. How does the Clergyman know what lessons 
to read at the public services ? How many such Tables are 
in the Prayer-book ? What is the purpose of each ? What 
are Proper Psalms, and when are they appointed to be 
used? When should the Venite not be sung in Morning 
Prayer, and why? Repeat the divisions of service for 
Morning Prayer, the Holy Communion, Infant Baptism, 
the Churching of Women, Form of Prayer to be used at 
Sea, and Form of Prayer for the Visitation of Prisoners 
(page 173). (The teacher should use her own judgment 
as to what part of the Prayer-book should be reviewed each 
Sunday. Let the object be to keep the pupil's mind fresh 
on the whole Book. Rapid questioning will bring about 
quickness of answer. Fifteen minutes to the review will 
accomplish the end.) 

XXXVI. What in the Prayer-book follows the Form 
of Prayer for the Visitation of Prisoners ? The Form of 
Prayer and Thanksgiving requires little or no explanation. 

[127] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

The teacher should read over carefully with the class the 
service and the rubrics. Note that the form of Prayer and 
Thanksgiving is appointed by the Church, and not simply 
by the State, and therefore Thanksgiving Day is a Church 
day, and was such long before the civil authority took note 
of the day. Christian people should observe the day as a 
Church day, and not merely as a feast day for the body. 
This service closes the division of the " Occasional '^ ser- 
vices of the Prayer-book and leads up to " the Church in 
the family.'' 

XXXVII. What follows the form of Thanksgiving? 
Let the teacher read over the service with the class and 
mark the opening rubrics. I^o explanation is needed. We 
shall, however, be pardoned for making a remark or two, 
and we indulge the hope that the teacher will emphasize 
in the minds of her little ones the importance of family 
worship. We would say: 

1. The house without a family altar may be a place of 
abode, but it cannot be, in any real sense, a Christian 
home. 

2. Family worship lies at the basis of the development 
of the personal Christian character. 

3. The highest enjoyment and profit to be derived from 
the public service and ministration of the Church are not 
possible where family worship is neglected. A prayerless 
home cannot send a prayerful heart to the House of 
Prayer. 

4. The claim that " times have changed " and that it is 
not possible to gather the servants together does not ex- 
cuse the neglect of family worship; nor is it sufficient to 
say that the appointed service is too long and takes up too 

[138] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

much time. The service can be shortened, and it were bet- 
ter to have only the Creed and Lord's Prayer said about 
the breakfast and supper table, with only one member of 
the family present, than for any reason to tear away the 
family altar. 

5. An immediate consequence of the neglect of family 
prayers has been the disappearance of a blessing at the 
table. 

6. We question if the fathers of the Church realize the 
extent to which Family Worship is becoming a dead letter 
in so-called Christian homes. The writer once made a 
note on this subject. He travelled 10,000 miles in a given 
year, stopping at every village in the area, and visiting 
only Church families, or families in which there were mem- 
bers of the Church. Throughout this area the writer 
found only thirty-six homes where a blessing was said at 
the table, and only nine homes where family prayer was 
said. These things should make us think, and they who 
can do the best thinking on this subject are they who are 
charged with the training of the Church's children. Do 
what you can to restore the family altar, where every day 
God's blessing is asked upon the household and upon the 
Church ; where the prayer is said that God may bless the 
labors of the rector and add to the life of the parish ; where 
the dedication is made of each member as a laborer in the 
common cause. This is what the Church has provided for : 
Every house a Church, and the father the priest thereof; 
every day a Sabbath day, its evening marking a Sabbath 
day journey nearer home. This is what the Church means 
by her " Family prayers." Restore the family altar and 
the great evils that threaten the Church will disappear. 

[129] 



THE TEACHER S COMPANION 

Teach the children under your charge that the Church has 
provided services, not only for the public gatherings within 
her walls, but that she has also provided for family wor- 
ship as well, and impress the fact upon each young heart 
that they who neglect the latter cannot receive the full 
blessing of the former. If you can leave this thought im- 
printed upon the minds and hearts of your little ones this 
will be a red-letter day for the parish and the Church. 

This closes another division of the Prayer-book services, 
" The Church in the Family." 

XXXVIII. The Psalter could not well have been placed 
in any other portion of the Prayer-book. The Psalms are 
a part of the Morning and Evening Prayer, but from the 
fact that only a portion of the Psalms is read each day, 
they were placed here so as not to break into any of the 
divisions. 

For next Sunday take a general review of the Prayer- 
book. Do not forget the Collect for the day. Let us at- 
tend the service this morning as a class. 



[130] 



GRADE No. 3 
XXIX 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYEK (Continued) 

rJTAS any one forgotten the Prayer-book and the Trin- 
ity Course? Repeat the Collect for the day. Re- 
peat the Table of Contents. How many title-pages are 
there in the Prayer-book ? Why is the Prayer-book called 
" Common " ? By whom was the Prayer-book put forth ? 
(See the Ratification.) From whence was the Prayer- 
book derived? (See the Preface.) What services are to 
be used habitually ? ( See " Concerning the Service of the 
Church.") Where do we find what portions of Scripture 
are to be read in the service? How many such tables are 
in the Prayer-book? Tell the special purpose of each. 
How much of the Bible do these tables contain? Under 
whose direction is the music of the Church placed ? ( See 
Canon in front of the Hymnal.) What is the rule for 
finding Easter? Repeat the Divisions of the Communion 
Service. We have pointed out ( 1 ) the Devotional services, 
(2) the Educational, (3) the Occasional, (4) the Church 
in the Family. 

XXXIX. What service follows the Psalter? Note the 
Preface here. The Form and Manner of making Deacons 
is the first of the services that pertain to (5) the Govern- 
ment of the Church. This last division has to do with the 
Ministry; its authority and official acts. Let the teacher 

[131] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

read over with the class the full title-page. Note (1) that 
this is the " Form and Manner of making, ordaining and 
consecrating Bishops, Priests, and Deacons; according to 
the order of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Unit- 
ed States of America/' (2) Since the Church of England 
and the Church in these States is one and the same, hav- 
ing the same form and manner of setting apart the Min- 
istry, therefore the Clergy of the Church in this land and 
the Clergy of England have the same official standing. 
No man who has not been ordained after this Form and 
Manner is permitted to execute the functions of the Min- 
istry of the Church. This is the reason that ministers of 
the various bodies of Christian people are not permitted 
to enter the chancel and pulpits of the Church. It is not 
a question of moral character, nor of intellectual fitness: 
it is a question of Ministerial Authority. The Ministry of 
the New Testament was a threefold Ministry and the 
power of ordination was in the hands of the Bishops. 
History attests that this Ministry has been handed down 
from the Apostles. Some three hundred years ago (in 
round numbers) some individual Christian men reached 
the conclusion that a threefold Ministry of Bishops, 
Priests and Deacons was not necessary, and that it was not 
necessary that ordination should be by a Bishop. This 
departure from the established order of things has given 
rise to the various bodies of Christian people about us: 
some with one order in the ministry and some with two; 
none with the authority of the Bishop. The Church has 
maintained the Ministry of the New Testament and of 
History, claiming that she has not the authority to sub- 
stitute any other ministry for that which the Lord or- 

[133] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON^ PRAYER 

dained, nor to vary from the Form and Manner of mak- 
ing, ordaining and consecrating that was established in the 
beginning. The Church does not exclude any one from 
her pulpit and chancel, but on the contrary she invites and 
welcomes all men, upon the one condition that they pre- 
sent the credentials which Scripture and History demand. 
The Church requires these credentials of those who wor- 
ship within her fold : why should she not require the same 
of those who have departed from her communion? Many 
a Layman in the Church knows as much as the Clergy- 
man and is as good a man, but he may not stand in the 
chancel or preach from the pulpit of the Church. The 
same is true of the ministers of the various bodies of 
Christians about us. They are good men and some of 
them are wise men, but according to the Scriptures and 
History they have not been ordained, and hence they have 
not the authority of the Ministry. Let the class read out 
loud the Preface. We do not think that any explanation 
can make this service more plain than the rubrics have 
done. Let the whole service be read over by the class, and 
give the children the privilege of asking any questions the 
service suggests. (If the teacher cannot answer the ques- 
tions, ask your Eector.) See that the children are made 
familiar with the main points of the service. Specially we 
suggest that emphasis be laid on the questions and answers 
of the service. Nothing will more surely increase the rev- 
erence and respect that is due to the Ministry than a 
knowledge of the vows of Ordination. 

XL. What service follows the Making of Deacons? 
Again we suggest that no explanation of this service is 
needed. Let the teacher have the rubrics and the service 

[133] 



THE TEACSER^S COMPANION 

read over carefully in the class, allowing any suggested 
questions to be asked. The object is that the pupils shall 
be familiar with the service. 

XLI. What service follows the Ordination of Priests? 
Let the pupils read the Consecration service over, each a 
part in turn. Note that the Litany and the Communion 
service are repeated here as a part of the Ordination and 
Consecration service. For next Sunday review the Table 
of Contents and the Divisions of the Services. Do not for- 
get the Collect. Who will attend the service to-day? Be 
careful that your responses are hearty. 



[134] 



GRADE No. 3 



XXX 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYER (Contirmed) 

ILTAVE we brought our Prayer-books and the Trinity 
Course? Repeat the Collect for the day. (Let the 
teacher carry the class in review over such portions of the 
Prayer-book as in his judgment seems best. You cannot 
lack for questions if you will keep in mind the main object 
of your teaching, namely, that each child shall have a clear 
idea of the ground covered.) 

XLII. What service follows the Consecration of 
Bishops? We would expect the service for the consecra- 
tion of a Church and the Institution of the Minister to be 
placed just here ; the sequence is natural. As no man may 
take to himself the sacred calling of the Ministry without 
Ordination, so the house that is used as a permanent place 
of worship should be consecrated to that purpose. As a 
Clergyman once set apart and ordained to the Ministry 
must henceforth engage in no secular work, so the Church 
building, consecrated to the worship of Almighty God, 
must henceforth be " separated from all unhallowed, 
worldly and common uses." Let the children read aloud 
the service of Consecration of a Church or Chapel. No 
explanation of the service is needed ; we will therefore only 
remark ( 1 ) regarding the architecture of a church : every 
building should bv its construction and interior arrange- 

[ 135 ] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

ments declare the purpose for which it was designed. By 
looking at a building, within and without, we should know 
a home from a theatre : a skating rink from an aquarium. 
In like manner there should be something in the archi- 
tecture and construction of a church; something in its 
interior arrangement that says to every one entering, 
" This house is set apart for the worship of God." This 
matter has received the attention of architects so far as 
the outside of the buildings is concerned. But we are per- 
suaded that the same care is not always used in the interior 
by those who minister about holy things. We have entered 
buildings whose exterior windows and turret suggested a 
peaceful House of Prayer to find, so prominently before 
the eye as not to be lost sight of for a moment, the gilded 
pipes of an organ — as though the room was consecrated 
for musical recitals only. We have entered other such 
buildings to find the pulpit the most prominent feature, 
as though the room were mainly a lecture hall. We have 
entered other such buildings to find the organ and the 
pulpit occupying a modest place, best suited for purposes 
for which they were constructed, while in the forefront 
was the Communion rail, the Cross and the Holy Table, 
all speaking in no uncertain tones, " My House shall be 
called the House of Prayer." 

We believe that congregations are more influenced by 
the construction of the edifice in which they worship than 
by the sermons they hear. The Church building, inside 
and out, should speak for itself: there are sermons in 
stones. 

We would remark (2) that the construction of the 
building and the interior arrangements have much to do 

[ 136 ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRATER 

with the behavior of the congregations. We have never 
entered the sacred buildings of our sectarian friends before 
the service began that we have not heard the murmur of 
idle conversation on every hand ; while in a Koman Church 
building one rarely hears a whisper, notwithstanding the 
idolatry of its three altars. These two extremes make 
clear the point we seek to emphasize. Let the architecture 
without and the arrangements within proclaim the fact, 
" This is the House of Prayer," and men will reverence 
the building. 

XLIII. What service follows the Consecration of a 
Church or Chapel? Let the children read the Office of 
Institution over. No explanation is needed. Attention is 
called to one fact suggested by the service. The Office of 
Institution shows how far we have fallen short of the 
Church's conception of the relationship that should exist 
between the Rector and his people. The Church has de- 
signed permanency of location, with necessary exceptions, 
while modern custom tends to frequent changes. Our be- 
lief is that when the Rector is earnest in his work and hon- 
est in his endeavor to serve the people entrusted to his 
charge, every change is hurtful. We further believe that 
whenever such change seems either desirable or necessary 
the conditions arise from want of co-operation on the part 
of the people. Teach your children to think of these 
things, and that they may think wisely see that they are 
made familiar with the Ordination services, the Consecra- 
tion of Churches and the Office of Institution. 

XLIV. Following the Office of Institution are the Arti- 
cles of Religion, and this brings us to the last division of 
the Book of Common Prayer. It will be recalled that in 

[137] 



THE teacher's COMPANION 

the Table of Contents the three great divisions were 
marked, and attention was called to the fact that there 
were three title-pages. We reach to-day the last. Noth- 
ing more is required than that the children read over the 
Articles : do not have them committed to memory. In the 
English Church the clergy subscribe to the Articles: not 
so in the American branch. The Articles of Religion are 
studied by the clergy : understood by some ; misunderstood 
by others. They hold little interest for the children of the 
Sunday-school. A careful reading is all that should be 
required. With a single warning we leave the subject: 
Never confound the Articles of Religion with the Articles 
of your Christian Faith. The Articles of the Christian 
Faith are found in the Creed. 



This brings to a close our study of the Book of Common 
Prayer, and completes the Third Grade of the Trinity 
Course of Church Instruction. A few closing remarks 
will not be out of place. 

The Book of Common Prayer is divided into three great 
parts, as shown in the Table of Contents: (1) Through the 
Psalter, (2) Through the Office of Institution, (3) the 
Articles of Religion. Another division we have suggested 
for a clearer understanding of the Church's wisdom and 
care in dealing with her children. 1. Devotional : through 
the Holy Communion. 2. Educational: through the 
Burial of the Dead. 3. Occasional : through the Form of 
Prayer and Thanksgiving. 4. Family Prayer. 5. Church 
Government: through the Office of Institution. 6. Dog- 
matic: The Articles of Religion. 

If the teacher has followed us through this instruction, 

[138] 



THE BOOK OF COMMOJS^ PRAYER 

carefully reviewing the classes Sunday by Sunday : If the 
children have been ordinarily studious, the end we had in 
view has been accomplished : the teacher and pupils know 
the Book of Common Prayer. They know what is in the 
Prayer-book; they know where to find the services; they 
understand the construction of the services. As members 
of a gathered congregation they will be intelligent wor- 
shippers. As to Church teaching, you have drank at the 
Fountain Source and cannot be turned aside by every wind 
of doctrine. They who are so taught will know the dif- 
ference between individual opinion and that for which the 
Church stands. There are many things " about " the 
Prayer-book not yet learned, such as its history and the 
revisions through which the book has passed. This is a 
separate study and may be taken up at any time. Our 
object has been accomplished: We have taught the Book 
of Common Prayer as the Church has placed the same in 
our hands. In dismissing the class we have one remark 
to make : You need fear no examination that can be given 
on the contents, use, and meaning of the Book of Common 
Prayer. We are now prepared to enter upon a study of 
the Fourth Grade of the system. 



[ 139 1 



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